John  Swett 


''-r^-:mm'V^''M 


'.'"';*■  •.,^-'  ,<£U.. 


THE 


ORTHOEPIST: 


A  PRONOUNCING  MANUAL, 

CONTAINING 

ABOUT  THREE  THOUSAND  FIVE  HUNDRED  WORDS, 

INCLUDING 

A  CONSIDERABLE  NUMBER   OF  THE   NAMES  OF   FOREIGN 

AUTHORS,    ARTISTS,    ETC.,   THAT    ARE    OFTEN 

MISPRONOUNCED. 


BY 

ALFRED  AYRES. 


NEW   YORK: 
D.    APPLETON    &    COMPANY, 

I,  3,  AND  5  BOND  STREET. 
1881. 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANYc 

1880. 


PEEFATOEY    I^OTE. 


This  little  book  has  been  made  for  the  use 
of  those  who  aim  to  have  their  practice  in 
speaking  English  conform  to  the  most  ap- 
proved orthoepical  usage. 

This  aim  has  always  been  esteemed  a  worthy 
ambition,  and  will  continue  to  be  so  esteemed 
as  long  as  the  manner  in  which  one  speaks  his 
mother-tongue  is  looked  upon  as  showing  more 
clearly  than  any  other  one  thing  what  his  cul- 
ture is,  and  what  his  associations  are  and  have 
been. 

There  are  very  many  cultured  people  who 
would  be  amazed  if  their  mispronunciations 
were  to  be  pointed  out  to  them.  Not  long 
since  the  writer  met  at  the  dinner-table  of  a 
friend  a  liberally  educated  member  of  one  of 
the  learned  professions,  who  descanted  at  con- 

'  54IB75 


siderable  length  on  the  importance  of  speaking 
one's  vernacular  according  to  the  best  usage, 
maintaining  that  correctness  in  this  particular 
is  worth  all  the  other  polite  accomplishments, 
that  it  is  the  surest  criterion  by  which  to  judge 
a  stranger's  social  status,  etc.  And  yet  the 
gentleman,  much  as  he  seemed  to  pride  him- 
self on  his  critical  knowledge  of  English,  mis- 
pronounced several  words  in  daily  use. 

It  is  not  expected  that  any  one  who  has 
given  special  attention  to  the  subject  of  Eng- 
lish orthoepy  will  agree  with  the  author  in 
every  particular;  but  those  who  look  at  all 
carefully  at  what  he  has.  done,  will  see  that  he 
has  taken  some  pains,  and,  further,  that  on  a 
few  points  he  hazards  an  impression  of  his 
own.  Instance  what  he  says  about  the  slurring 
of  the  pronouns,  and  about  the  sound  of  the 
vowels,  especially  o,  when  standing  under  a 
rhythmical  accent. 

The  object  in  view  has  been  as  much  to 
awaken  an  interest  in  the  subject-matter  as  to 
teach. 


The  pronunciation  of  the  foreign  names 
that  will  be  found  in  their  alphabetical  places, 
and  which  are  frequently  mispronouncedj  will 
not,  it  is  thought,  make  the  book  less  acceptable 
to  any,  while  it  will,  perhaps,  make  it  more 
acceptable  to  some. 

Those  who  discover  that  the  same  things 
are  said  in  a  plurality  of  places,  will  kindly 
remember  that  repetition  is  the  only  sure  road 
to  mental  acquirement. 

Suggestions  and  criticisms  are  solicited, 
with  the  view  of  profiting  by  them  in  future 
editions. 

A.  A. 

New  York,  Odohei*^  1880. 


KEY  TO  THE  PRONUNCIATION. 


a,  long as  in 

a,  short " 

a,  long  he/ore  r '' 

a,  Italian " 

a,  intermediate ^' 

a,  Iroad " 

a,  obscure " 

e,  long " 

5,  short ^* 

^,  like  a " 

e,  like  a " 

e    " 

e,  obscure *^ 

i,  long " 

1,  short " 

1,  like  long  e " 

1,  short  and  obtuse ...  '' 

i,  obscure *' 

6,  long " 

6,  short " 

6,  like  short  u " 

g,  like  long  oo " 


hale,  gray,  fate, 
pad,  fat,  have,  rfin, 
fare,  pair,  bear, 
far,  father,  calm, 
fast,  grasp,  branch., 
fall,  walk,  haul, 
liar,  hesitancy. 

mete,  seal,  eve. 
men,  mSt,  sell,  ferry, 
h^ir,  th^re,  where, 
obey,  prey,  eight, 
her,  herd,  fern,  verge, 
brier,  fuel,  celery. 

pine,  ice,  fire,  file, 
miss,  pin,  fill,  mirror, 
mien,  machine,  police, 
sir,  fir,  thirsty,  bird, 
ruin,  elixir,  ability. 

note,  foal,  old. 
not,  5dd,  resolve, 
son,  done,  other,  won. 
move,  pi'Qve,  do. 


6,  like  short  oo as  in  bosom,  wolf,  woman. 

6,  Iroad^  like  a ''  nor,  form,  sort,  stork. 

o,  obscure "  naajor,  confess,  felony. 

00,  long "  moon,  food,  booty. 

do,  short "  wool,  foot,  good. 

u,  long "  tube,  tune,  use,  lute. 

li,  short *'  tiib,  hut,  tis,  hurry. 

u,  like  long  oo "  rule,  true,  rumor. 

ii,  like  short  oo .    .  "  btill,  ptish,  put. 

4,  short  and  oMuse. "  f4r,  lirge,  conciir. 

u,  obscure "  sulphur,  deputy. 

y,  long "  style,  lyre,  fly. 

y,  short "  sylvan,  cyst,  lyric. 

y,  short  and  oMuse "  myrrh,  myrtle. 

oi  or  oy  (unmarked) "  oil,  join,  moist,  oyster. 

ou  or  ow  (unmarked) "  out,  hound,  owl. 

g,  so/t^  like  s  sharp "  gede,  gite,  raergy. 

-e,  Aarc?,  like  h "  -call,  -eon-eur,  success, 

gh,  soft,  like  sh "  ^haise,  marchioness. 

•eh,  hard  J  like  Jc ''  -ehorus,  eeho,  disti-eh. 

g,  hard "  get,  tiger,  begin. 

g,  soft,  like  j "  gem,  engine,  elegy. 

§,  soft,  like  z "  ha§,  amu§e,  rogeate. 

th,  soft,  fat,  or  vocal "  this,  the,  smooth. 

$,  like  gz ''  e^ist,  e$ert,  auxiliary. 

The  letter  g,  when  used  in  representing  the  pronunci- 
ation of  French  words,  simply  indicates  that  the 
preceding  consonant  has  a  nasal  utterance. 


THE   ORTHOEPIST 


A. 

This  vowel  is  pronounced  «  as  a  letter,  but  a 
as  a  word.  In  the  languages  of  Continental  Eu- 
rope it  usually  has  a  sound  like  a  voifar  ox  father^ 
or — especially  in  French — like  a  in  an%  branchy 
grass,  etc. 

Aaron — kv'\m. 

ab-do'men ;  ab-d5m'i-nal. 

^b'ject;  Sb'ject-ngss. 

^b'so-lute,  not  -lut. 

ab-s6ru-to-ry. 

The  dictionaries  say  that  the  penultimate  o 
in  such  words  as  declamatory,  migratory,  in- 
ventory, matrimony,  dedicatory,  derogatory, 
natatory,  category,  parsimony,  piscatory,  pos- 
tulatory,  prefatory,  preservatory,  territory,  etc., 
etc.,  is  or  should  be  pronounced  like  short  {H)  or 
obscure  (if)  u;  that  is,  like  o  in  major,  actor,  fac- 
tor, etc.     Is  this  true?    The  penultimate  o  of 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


10 


these  wbi'ds  falls,  without  an  exception,  tinder  a 
rhytlwfiml  ?:ccen;c,  which  naturally  does  and 
,  isho^^ld'hririg  but,  in  no  small  degree,  the  quality 
of  the  vowel,  though  not  in  the  same  degree  that 
it  is  brought  out  when  standing  under  a  primary 
accent.  And  yet  it  would  be  as  much  in  har- 
mony with  the  spirit  of  the  language  to  say  jc>r6- 
servatory,  making  the  o  as  long  as  the  penulti- 
mate 0  in  protozoic,  as  it  is  to  slur  it  to  the 
extent  we  naturally  do  in  syllables  where  it  has 
no  accent  whatever,  as,  for  example,  in  protector^ 
protectorship,  rector,  rectorship,  rectory,  etc.  It 
is  safe  to  assert  that  it  is  only  those  specially 
schooled  to  slur  this  o  who  pronounce  it  accord- 
ing to  the  dictionary  marking.  There  are  many 
who  say  matrimony,  and  a  few  who  say  inven- 
tory ;  but  there  are  probably  none,  in  this  coun- 
try at  least,  who  are  consistent  and  uniformly 
suppress  this  o  in  the  whole  long  list  of  words 
in  which  it  is  found.  To  do  so  is  to  take  some- 
thing from  whatever  of  sonorousness  the  lan- 
guage naturally  has,  as  all  languages  are  sonorous 
in  proportion  to  their  wealth  in  vowel-sounds. 
See  antinomy, 

ab-s5lve',  or  ab-§6lve'. 
ab-s6rb',  not  -zorb^ 
ab-ste'mj-otls. 
ab'stract-ly. 
ab-struse',  not  -strus'. 
^c-a-de'mi-an. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


11 

^c'cgnt,  noun. 

ac-cent',  verh  ;  ac-cent'ed. 

^c'cess,  or  ac-c6ss'. 

The  first  marking  is  preferred  by  the  later 
orthoepists,  and  is  sanctioned  by  our  most  care- 
ful speakers. 

ac-ces^so-ry,  or  ^c'ces-so-ry. 

Ease  of  utterance  has  shifted  the  accent  from 
the  first  to  the  second  syllable,  where  it  will  re- 
main. 

ac-cirmate ;  ac-cli'ma-tize. 

ac-c6st',  not  -kawst'. 

The  o  of  this  word,  though  so  marked,  is  not 
really  as  short  as  the  o  in  not.  Short  o  is  slightly 
prolonged  when  followed  by  ffy  fty  ss,  st,  or  th, 
as  in  off,  soft,  cross,  c6st,  broth ;  also,  in  many 
words  where  it  is  followed  by  n  or  final  ng,  as  in 
g6ne,  begone,  Ibng,  prong,  song,  str6ng,  thdng, 
thrdng,  wrong.  The  extreme  short  sound,  in  these 
words,  is  as  much  to  be  avoided  as  the  full  broad 
sound  of  a,  as  in  hard,  which  in  this  country  is  so 
frequently  heard. 

ac-cou'tre,  not  -cow'-. 

ac-crue',  not  -cm'. 

The  orthoepists  agree  that  u,  preceded  by  r 
in  the  same  syllable,  generally  becomes  simply 
00,  as  in  rude,  rumor,  rural,  rule,  ruby. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


12 


Sg'e-tate. 

^c'me,  or  ^c'me. 

a'corn,  Twt  a'corn. 

acoustics — a-kow'stiks,  not  a-kdbs'tiks. 

acquiesce — ^k-we-6s'. 

a-cr6ss',  not  a-krawst'. 

a-cr6s'tic,  not  a-kraws'tic.     See  accost. 

Sc'tor,  nx)t  d-c^tor. 

M-a-m3,n-te'an. 

M-ap-ta'tion. 

ad-dress',  hoth  the  noun  and  the  verb, 

ad-duce'. 

When,  in  the  same  syllable,  long  u  is  pre- 
ceded by  one  of  the  consonants  c?,  ^,  I,  n,  s,  or 
th,  it  is  not  easy  to  introduce  the  sound  of  y/ 
hence  careless  speakers  omit  it,  pronouncing 
duti/,  dooty  ;  tu7ie,  toon  ;  lute,  loot ;  nuisance, 
noosance,  etc.  And  yet  to  make  the  u  in  these 
words  as  clear  and  perfect  as  in  7nute,  cube,  etc., 
is  over-nice,  and  consequently  smacks  of  pedan- 
try. The  two  extremes  should  be  avoided  with 
equal  care. 

a-dept',  not  M'ept. 

ad-ke'sive,  oiot  -zive. 

M'i-pose,  or  M-j-pose',  not  -poz. 

See  Kejr  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


13 


M'mi-ra-ble ;  M'mi-ra-bly. 

M'mi-ral-ty,  not  ad-mi-r^rty. 

A-do'nis. 

a-dult',  not  M'ttlt. 

ad-vance^,  not  ad-vance',  nor  ad-v^nce'. 

The  fifth  sound  of  a^  called  the  intermediatey 
is  found  chiefly  in  monosyllables  and  dissyllables. 
At  the  beginning  of  this  century  these  words 
were  generally  pronounced  with  the  full  Italian 
a,  which  by  the  exquisites  was  not  unfrequently 
exaggerated.  This  Walker  undertook  to  change, 
and  to  that  end  marked  the  a  of  words  of  this  class 
like  the  a  in  man,  fat,  dt,  etc.  The  innovation, 
however,  met  with  only  partial  success.  Web- 
ster and  Worcester  both  opposed  it.  Now  there 
is  a  general  disposition  to  unite  in  some  inter- 
mediate sound  between  the  broad  a  in  father, 
which  is  rarely,  and  the  short  d  in  at,  which  is 
frequently,  heard  in  this  country.  Some  of  the 
words  in  which  a  now  receives  this  intermediate 
sound  are  :  advantage,  after,  aghast,  alas,  amass, 
alabaster.  Alexander,  answer,  ant,  asp,  ass,  basic, 
basket,  blanch,  blast,  branch,  brass,  cask,  casket, 
cast,  castle,  chaff,  chance,  chant,  clasp,  class, 
contrast,  craft,  dance,  draft,  draught,  enchant, 
enhance,  example,  fast,  flask,  gantlet,  gasp, 
ghastly,  glance,  glass,  graft,  grant,  grasp,  grass, 
hasp,  lance,  lass,  last,  mask,  m.ass,  mast,  mastiff, 
nasty,  pant,  pass,  past,  pastor,  pasture,  plaster, 
prance,  quaff,  raft,  rafter,  rasp,  sample,  shaft^ 
slander,  slant,  staff  task,  trance,  vast,  waft. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


14 

adventure — ad-v6nt'yur. 

M'verse,  not  M-verse',  nor  M-vurse'. 

MVer-ti§e,  or  M-ver-ti§e^ 

ad-ver'ti§e-ment. 

The  vowel  e  before  r  in  a  monosyllable  or  an 
accented  syllable  in  which  the  r  is  not  followed 
by  a  vowel  or  by  another  r,  and  in  derivatives 
of  such  words — especially  when  the  syllable  re- 
tains its  accent,  as  in  herd,  defer,  deferring,  err, 
concern,  maternal — has  an  intermediate  sound 
between  u  in  surge  and  e  in  ferry.  The  uncul- 
tured are  wont  to  give  the  e  in  such  words  the 
full  sound  of  u  in  surgej  as  murcy  for  mercy, 
furn  for  fern,  etc.  This  intermediate  sound  is 
quite  distinct  from  both  iX  and  ^.  It  is  less  gut- 
tural than  the  former  and  less  palatal  than  the 
latter.  It  is  heard  in  ermine,  verge,  prefer,  ear- 
nest, birth,  mirth,  bird,  myrtle,  virgin,  thirsty, 
learn,  discern,  fertile,  fervent,  fervid, perch,  per- 
fect, perfidy ,  perfume,  perjure,  permeate,  serpent, 
service,  terse,  verb,  verdant,  verdict,  vermin,  ver- 
nal, verse,  versify,  her,  herb,  hermit,  hearse,  cer- 
tain, dervis,  germ,  tner  chant,  mercury,  merge,  mer- 
maid, nerve,  adversity,  etc.  Also  heard  in  some 
unaccented  syllables,  as  in  adverb,  adverse,  etc. 

^-ne'id. 

a'er-ate;  a'er-at-ed. 

aerie — e're,  or  a're. 

a'er-o-lite. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


15 


a'er-o-naut. 

affaire  d'amour  (Fr.) — af'far'  da'mor'. 

affluxion — af-fltik'sliuii. 

aforesaid — a-f6r's6d. 

again — a-gen^ ;   against — a-genst'. 

The  usual  sound  of  the  diphthong  ai  is  that 
of  long  a.  The  principal  exceptions  are  in  said, 
saith,  again,  and  against,  where  it  has  the  sound 
of  short  e  ;  in  plaid  and  raillery,  where  it  has 
the  sound  of  short  a ;  in  aisle,  where  it  has  the 
sound  of  long  i  ;  and  in  final  unaccented  sylla- 
bles, as  in  fountain^  curtain,  etc.,  where  it  has 
the  sound  of  short  or  obscure  ^. 

a-gape',  or  a-gape'. 

a'ged,   not  ajd,   except   in   compound 

words. 
ag-gr^n'dize-ni6nt,  or  fig'gran-dize-ment. 
agile — 3,j'il,  not  ^j'il,  nor  a'jil. 
^g-ri-cillt'u-rist,  not  -u-ral-ist. 
airment,  not  -munt. 

In  pronouncing  such  terminal,  unaccented 
syllables  as  ment,  cent,  ance,  ence,  stant,  ent,  al, 
less,  ness,  etc.,  it  is  as  important  to  avoid  making 
the  quality  of  the  vowel  too  apparent  as  it  is  to 
avoid  saying  munt,  swit,  unce^  stunt,  unt,  ul,  luss, 
nuss,etc.  If  the  one  is  slovenly  and  vulgar,  the 
other  is  pedantic  and  affected. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


16 


^ra-bas-ter,  not  al-a-b^s'ter. 

al-brno. 

al-bu'men,  not  ^rbu-men. 

^rco-rd,n,  not  al-co'ran. 

^I'cove,  01'  al-cove^ 

Al-ex-M'drine. 

^rge-bra,  not  -bra. 

^rge-bra-ist,  or  ^1-ge-bra'ist. 

The  second  is  the  marking  both  of  Webster 
and  Worcester  in  all  except  their  later  unabridged 
editions,  which  accent  the  first  syllable. 

ali4s,  or  ^ri4s,  7Z(9^  a-li'as. 

alien — ^aryen,  not  ali-en. 

al-le'giance,  or  al-le'gi-ance. 

Webster's  dictionary  always  has  made  this 
a  word  of  four  syllables,  the  later  unabridged 
editions  excepted. 

fi,rie-go-rist. 

allegro — al-le'gro,  or  al-la'gro. 

al-l6p'a-tliy ;  al-lSp'a-tMst. 

al-lude',  not  -lud.     See  adduce. 

al-ly' ;  ^?.,  al-lie§'. 

This  noun  is  frequently  pronounced  dl'ly^  in 
accordance  with  the  gcfneral  custom  of  changing 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


17 


the  accent  of  words  used  both  as  nouns  and 
verbs.  But  Walker  shows  that  this  is  a  violation 
of  a  stronger  analogy,  since  "it  is  a  universal 
rule  to  pronounce  y  like  e  in  a  final  unaccented 
syllable."  Therefore  this  accentuation  is  errone- 
ous, and  it  is  altogether  unauthorized. 

almond — a'mund. 

alms — amz,  not  almz,  nor  ^mz. 

al-p^c'a,  not  ^1-a-p^k'a. 

alpine — ^rpin,  or  (better  ?)  -pin. 

al'so,  not  srso. 

^1-ter-ca'tion,  not  al-,  hut  al-  as  in  alum. 

al-ter'nate,  noun  and  adj.^  not  al-. 

^I'ter-nate,  or  al-ter'nate,  verb. 

al-ter'na-tive,  not  al-. 

a-lu'mi-ntim,  not  a-lu^-. 

al-ve'o-lar,  or  ^iVe-o-lar. 

al-ve'o-late,  or  ^iVe-o-late. 

aVways,  not  al'wuz,  nor  blVuz. 

amateur — a'ma-tur'. 

There  have  been  as  many  ways  set  down  for 
pronouncing  this  word  in  English  as  there  have 
been  English  dictionary-makers.  The  fact  is, 
the  exact  sound  of  the  last  syllable  can  not  be 
represented  by  any  characters  we  have  at  com- 
mand.    This  word  is  semi- Anglicized. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


18 


In  pronouncing  French,  it  is  of  the  first  im- 
portance to  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  a  compara- 
tively unaccented  language  ;  that  the  difference 
in  the  quantity  of  the  syllables  is  due  rather  to 
a  prolongation  of  the  vowel-sounds  of  the  long 
syllables  than  to  their  receiving  a  greater  stress 
of  voice. 

^m'ber-gris. 

There  is  a  class  of  words,  mostly  of  French 
and  Italian  origin,  in  which  i  retains  the  long 
sound  of  e ;  as,  ambergris,  antique,  bombazine, 
capuchin,  caprice,  critique,  gabardine,  haber- 
dine,  quarantine,  ravine,  routine,  fascine,  fa- 
tigue, intrigue,  ^nachhie,  magazine,  marine, 
palanquiyi,  pique,  police,  tambourine,  tontine, 
oblique,  etc.  Brazil,  chagrin,  and  invalid  for- 
merly belonged  in  this  list ;  now,  however,  they 
are  generally,  if  not  universally,  pronounced 
with  the  i  short. 

ambrosia — am-bro'zlie-a,  or  am-bro'zlia. 
ameliorate — a-mel'yo-rate. 
a-me'na-ble,  not  a-mSn'-. 
amende  honorable  (French) — a'mSngd' 

6n'6'ra-br. 
a-menl-ty,  not  a-me'ni-. 
amour  (Anglicized  French) — a-mor' 
amour  propre  (Fr.) — a'mor'  priipr'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


v' 


19 


an-cSs'tral. 

Ease  of  utterance  has  transferred  this  accent 
from  the  first  to  the  second  syllable. 

anclior — ^ng'kur. 

an-clioVy. 

ancient — ^an'shent,  not  ^n'% 

andiron — tod'i-urn. 

anew — a-nu',  not  a-nu'. 

angel — ^an'jel,  not  an'jl,  nor  ^n'jtil. 

angular — ^ng'gu-lar. 

an-ni'lii-late,  not  an-nilate. 

annunciate — an-niin'slie-at. 

an-oth'er,  not  a-n&th'-. 

an'swer.     See  advance. 

S,n-te-pe-nult^ 

There  is  no  authority  for  saying  dn-te-pe' nUlt ; 
still,  that  is  what  the  recognized  pronunciation 
of  this  word  will  be  sooner  or  later,  probably. 
We  already  have  authority  for  saying  pe'niUty 
instead  of  pe-niXlt' , 

a,n'ti,  not  ^n'ti. 

^n'ti-mo-ny. 

an-tin^'o-my. 

The  penultimate  o  of  these  two  words,  it  will 
be  seen,  is  marked  in  both  cases  alike,  i.  e., 


See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


20 


according  to  the  dictionaries.  Who  will  contend 
that  the  sound  of  the  vowel  is,  or  should  be,  the 
same  in  both  words?  In  the  first  word  it  is  the 
vowel  of  a  long  syllable  ;  in  the  second,  of  a 
short  one.     See  absolutory, 

an-tip'o-deg,  not  ^n'ti-podz. 
anxiety — ang-zi-e-ty. 
anxious — ^ngk'slius. 
a'pgx,  not  ap'ex. 
Apli-ro-drte. 
a-p6d'o-sis. 
apologue — ^p'o-l6g. 
apostle — a-p6s'sl. 
Sp-o-the'o-sis,  not  ^p-o-the-o'sis. 
^p-pa-ra'tus,  or  ^p-pa-ra'tus. 
ap-p4r'ent,  not  ap-par'ent. 
appreciation — ap-pre-she-a'shun. 
ap-pren'tice,  not  ap-prin'tis. 
^p'pro-ba-tive. 
a'pri-c6t,  oiot  &p'ri-c6t. 
apron — a'purn,  or  a'prun. 
h  propos  (Fr.) — a  pro'po'. 
^p'ti-tude,  not  -tud. 
The    u    of    altitude^   amplitude^   assiduityy 

See  Key  to  FronunciatioD,  p.  6. 


21 


assume,  attitude,  astute,  attribute  (the  noun), 
etc.,  has  its  long  sound  slightly  abridged.  The 
careless  generally  pronounce  it  u.     See  adduce, 

aquiline — ^^k'we-lin,  or  -lin. 
aqueduct — ^k'we-diikt. 
Ar'ab,  7iot  X'rAb. 
Ar'a-bic,  not  A-ra'bic. 
archangel — ark-an'jel. 

When  arch,  signifying  chief,  begins  a  word 
from  the  Greek  and  is  followed  by  a  vowel,  it 
is  pronounced  arJc;  as  in  archangel,  architect, 
archive,  archipelago,  archiepiscopal,  archaeology, 
etc.  ;  but  when  arch  is  prefixed  to  an  English 
word,  it  is  pronounced  so  as  to  rhyme  with 
march ;  as,  archbishop,  archduke,  archfiend, 

ar-^hi-di-^c'o-nal. 

arctic — ark'tik,  not  ar'tik. 

ard'u-otis,  not  ar'dous. 

are — ^ar,  not  kr. 

a're-a,  not  a-re'a. 

a-re'o-la,  not  ^-re-6la. 

ar'gand. 

ar'gen-tine. 

A-ri-M'ne. 

A-ri'on. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


22 

a-ris'to-cr^t,  or  ^r'is-to-cr^t. 

Ar-k^n'sas. 

ar-ma'da,  or  ar-ma'da. 

ar'mis-tice. 

a-ro'ma-tize. 

arquebuse — ar'kwe-btis,  not  -bus. 

ar-rear' ;  pl,^  ar-rear§'. 

ar'se-nic. 

Ar'te-mis. 

Asia — a'she-a,  not  a'zha,  nor  a'zhe-a. 

Asiatic — a-slie-^tl€,  not  -zhe-. 

as-pir'ant. 

^s'sgts,  not  as-s6ts'. 

associate — as-so'slie-at,  not  as-so'shat. 

association — as-so-she-a'sliun,  not  -se-. 

assure — a-shur',  not  -shur'. 

as-sur'ance. 

as-tr6g'ra-phy ;  ^s-tro-l5g'i€. 

^tli-e-ne'um. 

^s-tro-n5m^i€. 

ate,  not  6t ;  imp,  of  to  eat. 

k  toute  force  (Fr.)— a'  tot'  fors'. 

k  tout  prix  (Fr.) — a'  to'  pre'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


23 

attache  (Fr.)— a't^'sha'. 

Aubert— 6'bar'. 

au-da'cious,  not  -dfcli'us. 

au  fait  (Fr.)— 6^  fa'. 

Au-ge'an. 

aunt,  not  Snt. 

au-re'o-la,  not  au-re-o'la. 

au  revoir  (Fr.) — o'  rtiv'war', 

au'rist. 

au-ro'ra  bo-re-alis. 

aus-cul-ta'tion. 

auxiliary — awg-zirya-re. 

a-vaunt',  or  a-vaunt'. 

^.v^e-nue,  not  -nu. 

aw'fiil,  not  aw'fl. 

awkward,  not  awk'ard. 

a-wry',  not  aw-ry'. 

axiom — ax'e-tim,  or  ^ks'yum. 

axle — ^k'sl. 

ay,  or  aye  (meaning  yes) — i. 

aye  (meaning  always) — a. 

a^z'ote,  or  a-z6te'. 

azure — a'zliur,  or  Szh'ur. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


24 


B. 

This  consonant,  preceded  by  m  or  followed 
by  t  in  the  same  syllable,  is  generally  silent ;  as, 
Imnh^  limhy  comb,  dumhy  climb,  bomb,  tomb, 
doubt,  debt,  subtle,  etc.  Buccumh  is  said  to  be 
one  of  the  exceptions  ;  in  this  country,  however, 
it  is  generally  pronounced  without  the  b. 

bade — ^bS-d,  Twt  bad. 

bagatelle  (Fr.)— ba^g^'tgr. 

badinage — ba'di'nazli'. 

balm — bam,  not  b^m. 

Balmoral — ba,l-m5r'al. 

Balzac — ^b^Fz^k',  not  bal'-. 

banquet — ^b^ng'kwet. 

Ba-r^b'bas,  not  bar'ab-bas. 

barouclie — ^ba-rosli',  not  -rocli'. 

b^r'rel,  not  -ril. 

ba-salt',  not  -zalt'. 

bas-bleu — ^ba'-bluh^ 

Those  who  do  not  know  the  French  pronun- 
ciation well  are  advised  to  use  the  English  word 
blue-stocking,  as  good  English  is  always  better 
than  bad  French. 


ba-sliaw\ 

ba,ss'  re-lief ,  not  ba-, 


See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


25 


B^s^tile'. 

batli,  not  ba,th ;  jp?.,  bathg. 

Beatrice  Cenci  (Italian) — ^ba-a-tre'cM 

cliSii'clie. 
beau  monde  (Fr.) — bo'  maund'. 
beaux-esprits  (Fr.) — ^bo'-zas'pre'. 
be-cauge',  not  be-c6z'. 
bedizen — ^be-di'zn,  or  be-diz'n. 
Be-6l'ze-bub,  not  bgrze-btib. 
bedstead — ^b6d'st6d,  not  -stid. 
Beethoven — ^ba'to-fen. 
been — ^bin. 

Pronounced  hen  in  England  by  many  care- 
ful speakers  ;  their  highest  authority,  however, 
marks  it  hm, 

be-g6ne',  not  -gawn.     See  accost. 
be-Mlf ,  not  -Mf. 
Be'lie-mStli. 
behoove. 

Whether  written  with  one  o  or  with  two, 
this  word  is  pronounced  he-h6bve\  and  not  be- 
hoved 

bel-esprit  (Fr.) — ^bgl'-as^pre'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


26 


bellows — ^bsrius. 

Smart  says  :  "  Though  generally  considered 
as  a  plural,  some  authors  join  bellows  to  a  verb 
singular  ;  and  this  will  justify  the  pronunciation 
heVlus.'''^  Walker  remarks  :  "  The  last  syllable 
of  this  word,  like  that  of  gallows^  is  corrupted 
beyond  recovery  into  /w5." 

be-neath',  not  -neatli\ 

be-queath',  7iot  -queatli'. 

Beranger — ba'r5ng'zlia'. 

Ber'lin,  not  ber-lin^ 

The  latter  pronunciation  is  neither  English 
nor  German,  since  the  Germans  say  hdr-len', 

bestial — ^bSst^al. 

bestrew — ^be-stru',  or  -stro'.   See  strew. 

be-tr6tli^,  not  -troths 

be-tr6tli'al,  not  -troth'-. 

be-tr6tli'ment,  not  -troth'-. 

bev'el,  not  b6vl. 

bib-li-6g^ra-pliy. 

bi-fur'cate. 

bi-ftir'cat-ed,  oiot  -id,  nor  -iid. 

Making  id  or  ud  out  of  terminal  ed  is  one  of 
the  most  objectionable,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
common,  of  faults.   The  mangling  of  the  terminal 


See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


27 


vowels  is  more  offensive  to  a  cultured  ear  than 
the  misplacing  of  an  accent. 

billet-doux  (Fr.) — be'ya'do'. 

The  plural  {billets-doux)  is  pronounced,  in 
French,  precisely  like  the  singular. 

bi-fin'ni-al,  not  bi-. 

Bingen— bing'en,  not  bin'jen. 

bi-no'mi-al,  not  bi-. 

bi-6g^ra-pliy,  not  bi-. 

bis'mutli. 

Bis'marck,  not  biz^-. 

At  the  end  of  a  syllable,  5,  in  German,  has 
invariably  its  sharp,  hissing  sound. 

bi-tu'm6ii,  not  bit'ii-men. 

blackguard— bMg'gard. 

bMs^phe-motis,  not  bMs-plie'mous. 

bla'tant,  not  bla'-. 

blase  (Fr.)— bla^za'. 

bleat — ^blet. 

bless'ed,  adj. 

There  are  some  participial  adjectives,  and 
some  adjectives  not  derived  from  verbs,  in  which 
the  e  of  the  last  syllable  is  commonly  sounded  ; 
as,  agedy  beloved^  blessed,  cursed,  deuced,  wicked, 
winged,  etc.     The  pulpit  affectation  that  sounds 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


28 


the  ed  of  the  imperfect  tense  and  the  participles, 
when  reading  the  Bible,  is  going  out  of  fashion. 

blithe. 

Blumentlial — ^blu'men-tal. 

blue,  or  blue. 

Smart  is  the  only  orthoepist  who  gives  the  u 
of  this  word  the  sound  of  long  oo, 

Boccaccio — bo-ka'cho. 

bold'est,  not  -ist,  nor  -ust. 

bombast — bfim'b^st. 

This  is  the  accentuation  of  Walker,  Webster, 
Cull,  and  Richardson  ;  it  is  permitted  by  Worces- 
ter, and  is  the  general  pronunciation  in  this  coun- 
try. 

Boileau — bwa'lo'. 

bombazine — ^b&m-ba-zine',  not  b6m-. 

Boleyn — ^bdbl'in. 

Bolingbroke — ^bsring-brdbk. 

bom-byg'i-noiis. 

Bonnat — ^bttn'na'. 

bSn'net,  not  biln'-. 

booth,  not  booth. 

Borghese — bor-ga'za. 

Bouguereau — ^bo'ger'o'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


29 

Boulanger — bol6ng'z]ia\ 
bouquet  (Fr.) — ^bo'ka'. 
bourn,  or  bourne — ^born. 

The   authority  for   pronouncing  this  word 
boom  is  very  slight. 

bowsprit — bo'sprit,  not  bow'% 

Bra'min,  not  bra^-. 

bra-va'do,  or  bra-va'do. 

braVo,  not  bra'-. 

breeches — bricli'ez. 

breeching — briching. 

brStii'ren,  n/)t  bretii'er-6n. 

breviary — brev'ya-re,  or  breVi-a-re. 

brew — bru,  not  bru. 

brewer — ^bru'er. 

brig'and,  not  bri-g^nd'. 

brig'an-tine,  not  -tin,  nor  -ten. 

bristle — ^bris'sl. 

bro'gan,  or  bro-gto'. 

bro'mine,  not  -min. 

bro'mide,  not  -mid. 

br5n-€lii'tis. 

brSth'el. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


30 

Brougham — ^brdb  'am. 

bruit — ^brut. 

bruige. 

Buddha — ^bud'a,  or  blid'a. 

buoy — ^bwoy,  or  bwoy. 

bureau — bu'ro. 

Bur'gun-dy. 

bur-l6sque'. 

biish'el,  not  biishl. 

business— ^biz'nes,  not  -ntis.  See  ailment. 


C. 

.  This  letter  is  hard,  and  sounds  like  ^,  before 
a,  o,  and  u  ;  soft,  and  sounds  like  5,  before  6,  % 
and  y,  except  in  sceptic  and  scirrhus^  and  their 
derivatives,  in  which  it  is  hard,  like  Jc, 

When  ce  or  ci  are  preceded  by  the  accent, 
and  are  followed  by  a  vowel  in  the  next  syllable, 
the  c  combines  with  the  e  or  i  to  form  the  sound 
sh,  as  in  ocean,  social,  tenacious,  etc.  Sometimes 
the  c  alone  has  this  sound,  or  rather  the  e  or  i  is 
used  twice.  First  it  combines  with  the  c  to 
make  the  sound  sh,  then  it  takes  on  its  usual 
sound,  as  in  sociology — so-she-ol'o-gy. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


31 


In  discern,  suffice,  sice,  and  sacrifice,  and  their 
derivatives,  c  has  the  sound  of  z.  It  is  silent  in 
czar,  victuals,  indict,  and  their  derivatives,  and 
also  in  terminal  scle,  as  in  muscle,  etc. 

cabaret — ka'b^'ra'.     See  amateur. 

cabriolet— ka'bre'ola'. 

cachet — ^ka'sM'. 

Cadi — ^ka'dj. 

cafe  (Fr.)— ka'fa'. 

Cairo — in  Egypt,  ki'ro ;  in  tbe  United 

States,  ka'ro. 
caisson — ka'son. 

This  word  is  generally  marked  by  orthoepists 
ka-soon'  or  ka'sobn;  but  it  has'become  thoroughly 
Anglicized,  and  should  be  pronounced  according 
to  English  analogy.  The  above  marking  is  be- 
lieved to  conform  to  good  usage. 

ca-Msli'',  not  Jash\ 
cal-cin'a-ble. 
cal-cine',  or  c^rcine. 

The  dictionary  authority  for  the  second  mark- 
ing is  very  slight.  The  preference  shown  for  it 
in  this  country  is  due  to  its  having  been  so 
marked  in  the  earlier  editions  of  Webster.  The 
last  edition  only  permits  it. 


See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


32 

cardron,  not  c^l'-. 

calf — caf,  not  c^f. 

ca'lipli,  not  ca'-. 

c^l-is-thenics. 

calk — kawk,  not  kawlk. 

cal-lig'ra-pliy. 

Cal-li'o-pe. 

calm,  palm,  psalm,  alm§. 

calyx,  or  c^l'yx. 

ca-mero-pard. 

c^m'phor,  not  -fir. 

Canaanite — ca'nan-ite. 

canaille — c^'nie'. 

The    last  syllable   is*  very  like   a   running- 
together  of  long  i  and  long  e, 

c^n'cel,  not  c^n'sl. 

ca-nine',  not  ca'nine. 

caoutchouc — koo'chdok. 

C^p-u-glim'. 

car'bine. 

carbonaceous — kar-bo-na'slius. 

ca'ret,  not  c^r'-. 

careme  (Fr.) — ka'ram'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


33 


cAr'i-cat-ure,  not  -ca-ture,  nor  -ca-chur. 
c^rl-cat-u-rist. 

Worcester's  and  Webster's  marking  of  these 
words  is  -ca-tur-. 


carte  de  visite  (Fr.) — kart  de  ve'zet'. 
'car'tsr  (Fr.),  not  car'tSl,  nor  car-tSl'. 
carte  blanclie  (Fr.) — kart  bl5ngsli. 
car'tridge,  not  kdt-. 
Car-tha-gm^i-an. 
ca§e'ment,  not  -miint. 
caseous — ^ka'se-us,  ka'she-iis,  or  ka'sMs. 
c^s'si-mere,  7iot  k^z'-. 
cassino  (game) — kas-se'no. 
castle — ^k^s'l,  not  k^s'tl. 
casual — ^kd-zh'ii-al. 
casuistry — ^k^zh'u-is-try. 
catalogue — kd,t'a-l5g,  not  -log. 
ca,tcli,  not  kStcli. 
cateckumen — ^k^t-e-ku'meri. 
caviar  (Fr.) — k^Ve'ar.' 
Cay-gnne',  not  ki-6n'. 
Cecil — s6s'il. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


34 


cSri-ba-cy. 

This  is  the  marking  of  all  the  orthoepists 
except  Webster,  who  gives  the  preference  to 
se-lWa-se, 

cellar,  not  stiller. 

cellular — cSryu-lar. 

cSm'ent,  07*  ce-mSnt'  {nouTi). 

Smart  says  ce-ment\  and  thinks  this  accentu- 
ation will  finally  prevail. 

cem'e-t6r-y,  not  cgm'e-try. 

c6n-trif' u-gal,  not  cgn-tri-fu'gal. 

c6n-trip'e-tal,  not  cgn-tri-pe'tal. 

ce-pMric,  not  cgpli^al-ic. 

ce'rate,  not  c6r'-. 

cere'ment,  Tiot  ce're-. 

"But  tell 
Why  thy  canonized  bones,  hears'd  in  death. 
Have  burst  their  cerements  !  " — Hamlet, 

Not  "canoniz'd  bones,  hearsed  in  death,"  as 
it  is  generally  read. 

cer'tain,  not  cert'n. 
ce-rule-an,  not  ce-ru'-. 
^ha-grin'.     See  ambergris, 
chal'dron,  or  chardron. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


35 


Cham — \&m, 

cham'b'er,  not  cMm'-. 

chamois — sh^mVa'. 

chan'cer-y,  not  chan^-,  nor  cMn'-.     See 

advance. 
€lia'6s,  not  -lis. 
chapeau — sha'po'. 
gha-rade'. 

charge  d'affaires — shar'zha'  d4f'far^ 
chasten — chas'sn,  not  chS-s'n. 
ch^s'ti§e-ment,  not  ch^s-tiz'-. 
chateau  en  Espagne — sha'to'  Gn'as'pM'. 
Cherubini — ka-r  u-be  'ne. 
chestnut — chgs'nut. 
chew — chu,  not  chu. 
ghi-ca'ner-y,  not  chi-. 
chick'en,  not  chick'n. 
chirdren,  not  chirdurn. 
chimpanzee — chim-p^n'ze,  or  -pdn-ze'. 
Smart  accents  the  last  syllable. 
Chi-ne§e',  not  -nese'. 
€hi-r6p'o-dist. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


36 

cMg'el,  not  chiz'l. 
gMv'al-ric,  or  ghi-v^rric. 
gMv'al-rotts,  not  clii-vArroiis. 
ghiv'al-ry,  not  cMv'-  (antiquated). 
^Mo'ride. 

According  to  Smart  and  Cull,  chemical  terms 
ending  in  icle  should  have  the  i  long ;  all  other 
authorities,  however,  mark  it  short. 

Chopin — slio'ptog',  n6>^  clio'pin. 

€horer-ic. 

€li6'rist,  not  -eliSr'-  (antiquated). 

€li6r'is-ter. 

christen — kris'sn. 

christening — ^kris'sn-ing. 

Christianity — ^krist-y^n'e-ty,  or  kris-te. 

^n'e-ty. 
Christmas — kris'mas,  oiot  krist'-. 
€hr6n'o-l6g-ic. 
cic'a-trice,  not  -trice, 
cicerone — sis-e-ro'ne  (Anglicized). 

The  maker  of  this  little  book  would  take 
occasion  to  say  here  that,  in  his  judgment,  it  is 
always  well  to  make  one's  pronunciation,  when 
speaking  English,  as  English  as  permissible. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


37 

choose — chuz,  not  chuz. 

ciliary — sirya-ry. 

CiVce. 

Cincinnati — sin-sin-na'ti,  not  -n^t'ta. 

cir'cum-stance — ance  as  in  instance. 

cis-a,rpine,  or  (better  ?)  -pin. 

cit'a-del,  not  -dtil. 

cit'rate,  not  ci'trate. 

civ'il,  not  civ'l,  nor  civ'ul. 

cMn-des'tine. 

clapboard — kMb'bord. 

cMr'i-on. 

clem'en-cy,  not  -tin-. 

clew — ^klu,  not  klu. 

clerk. 

In  England  pronounced  Mark ;  in  America, 
except  on  the  stage,  Merk. 

cl6tll. 

Before  th,  st,  and  ss,  the  letter  o  is  frequently 
sounded  aw  in  this  country,  as  in  cloth,  hroth, 
lost,  cost,  moss,  dross,  etc.,  which  is  accounted 
inelegant ;  it  is  not  more  objectionable,  however, 
than  a  palpable  effort  to  make  the  vowel  short. 
See  accost. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


S8 


c6-ad-ju'tor. 

c6-M'ju-tant. 

c5c]i'i-neal,   or   (according   to   Smart) 

c6cli-i-near,  not  koch'-. 

c5ck'a-trice,  not  -tris. 

coffee — k6f' f e,  not  kauf f e.    See  accost. 

cocoa — ko'ko. 

c6f 'fin,  not  kauf 'n.     See  accost. 

coexist — k6-egz-ist\' 

c6g'ni-z^nce. 

There  is  good  authority  for  pronouncing  this 
word  cdn'i-zdnce ;  but  this  pronunciation  finds 
little  favor  in  America. 

cognac — kon'ya,k',  not  ko'ni-^k. 

c6g-no'men. 

Colbert  (Fr.)— kurbar'. 

Coleridge — korrij. 

c6l-os-se'um. 

cSrum-ba-ry. 

column — kSl'um,  not  -yum,  nor  -y&m. 

col-la'tion,  not  ko-la'tion. 

com'bat,  or  cSm'bat. 

The  question  here  is  whether  the  o  shall  have 
the  sound  of  o  in  come  or  of  o  in  from.   Walker, 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


39 


Worcester,  Smart,  and  others  prefer  the  o  in 
come ;  Webster  and  others,  and  popular  usage, 
the  o  in  from.  The  stage  has  always  followed 
Walker,  making  the  6  very  short ;  but,  though 
this  may  perhaps  be  considered  the  more  elegant 
mode  of  pronouncing  the  word  at  present,  the 
longer  o  will  doubtless  eventually  prevail. 

com'bat-ant,  or  c5m'-. 

com'bat-ive-ness,  or  com-b^t'-. 

Ease  of  utterance  has  put  the  accent  on  the 
second  syllable  of  this  word,  where,  despite  the 
dictionaries,  it  is  pretty  sure  to  remain. 

Comedie  Frangaise — kom'a'de'  frSng'- 

saz'. 

comely — ktimly,  not  kom'-. 

comme  il  faut  (Fr.) — ^ktim  el  fo. 

com-mend'a-ble ;  in  verse^  often  c6m'-. 

"'Tis   sweet   and  commendable  in  thy  nature, 
Hamlet." 

"  Silence  is  only  comm6^c7able 
In  a  neat's  foot  dried  and  a  maid  not  vendable." 

commensurable — kom-men'shu-ra-ble. 

cttm'ment^  verb  and  noun, 

com-mi§'er-ate. 

c6m'mon-w6altli,  or  c5m-mon-wealtli'. 

c5m'mu"iii§m ;  cttm^mu-nist. 


See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


40 


c6m'pa-ra-ble. 

com-pa,r'a-tive. 

com-pa'tri-ot,  not  -p^t'-. 

corn-peer'. 

com-peired,  participial  adjective. 

"  Finding  ourselves  too  slow  of  sail,  we  put  on 
a  compelled  valor." — Hamlet. 

com-pen'sate,  or  c6m 'pen-sate.    See  con- 
summate, 
complaisance — ^k6m'pla-z^nce^ 

Worcester  accents  the  last  syllable  of  this 
semi- Anglicized  French  word  ;  Webster  the  first, 
placing  a  secondary  accent  on  the  last.  In  French, 
whatever  difference  there  is  in  the  quantity  of 
the  three  syllables  is  due  to  the  vowel-sound  of 
the  last  syllable  being  somewhat  drawn  out. 

c6m'plai-§ant^ 

c5m'plex,  not  com-pl6x'. 

c6m'pro-mi§e. 

comptroller— kon-troVer. 

c5m'rade,  or  coin'rade,  or  -rM. 

The  authorities  are  divided  on  this  word 
somewhat  as  they  are  on  combat^  which  see. 
The  last  marking  of  the  second  syllable,  though 
not  sanctioned  by  the  dictionaries,  certainly  is  by 
etymology  and  good  use. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


41 


con  amore  (It.) — ^kSn  a-mo'ra. 
concave — kSng'kav,  not  -kav. 
con-c6n'trate,  or  c6n'cen-trate.    See  con- 
summate, 
conch — kSngk. 
con-cise',  not  -cize'. 
con-elude',  not  -clud'.     See  aptitude, 
con-clu'sive,  not  -ziv. 
concord — kSng'kord. 
Concord  (town) — ^k6ng'kurd. 
concourse — kSng'kors. 
con-cu'bi-nage. 
con-dolence,  not  c5n'do-. 
conduit — kSn'dit,  or  kun'dit. 
con-fess'or,  or  c6n'fess-or. 

The  latter  accentuation  is  becoming  anti- 
quated. 

c6n'fi-d^nt^ 

con-fis^cate.     See  consummate. 

c6n'flu-ent,  not  con-flu'-. 

congenial — ^kon-jen'yal. 

There  is  abundant  authority  for  making  this 
a  word  of  four  syllables  ;  but,  fortunately,  few 
people  follow  it. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation^  p.  6. 


42 


congeniality— kon-Jen-y^ri-ty,  or  -ni4r-. 

Congo — ^k6ng'g6. 

congregate — ^k5n'gre-gate,  or  k6ng'-. 

congress — ^kttng'gres. 

congressional — ^kon-gr6sli'un-al. 

con-jure',  to  solemnly  enjoin^  to  adjure, 

con'jure,  to  influence  hy  magic. 

"  What  is  he  whose  grief 
Bears  such  an  emphasis  ?  whose  phrase  of  sorrow 
Conjures  the  wand'ring  stars,  and  makes  them 

stand 
Like  wonder- wounded  hearers  ?  " 

Which  word  does  Hamlet  use  here  ?  From 
time  immemorial  the  stage  has  said  that  he  uses 
the  second.  In  other  words,  according  to  the 
stage,  Hamlet  accuses  Laertes  of  playing  hocus- 
pocus  with  the  stars. 

connaisseur  (Fr.) — con^a'sur'. 

The  orthography  of  this  word  is  made  to 
conform  to  that  of  the  modern  French,  because 
ai  represents  the  sound  of  the  syllable,  and  oi 
does  not.  The  sound  of  the  last  syllable  can 
only  be  approximated  with  English  characters. 
The  ur  of  fur,  however,  somewhat  prolonged,  is 
very  near  it. 

conquer — k6ng^ker. 

conquest — ^k6ng'kw6st. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


43 

conscientious — k6n-slie-6n'sliiis. 

c5n-ser-va'tor,  or  c6n'ser-va-tor. 

con-sid'er-a-ble,  Tiot  -sid'ra-ble. 

con-sign'or,  ot  c6n-sign-6r'. 

con-sis'to-ry,  or  c5n'sis-to-ry. 

c6n-s6ls. 

The  important  point  in  pronouncing  this  word 
is  to  make  the  o  of  both  syllables  short.  As  for 
the  accent,  it  seems  to  be  quite  immaterial  where 
it  is  placed. 

con-spir'a-cy,  not  -spf-. 

c6n'striie. 

con-sume'. 

c6n'sum-mate,  or  con-stim'mate,  verh. 

Those  who  prefer,  in  common  with  nearly- 
all  the  orthoepists,  to  accent  the  second  syllable 
of  such  three-syllabled  verbs  as  contemplate^ 
compensate^  confiscate^  constellate^  demonstrate^ 
despumate^  expurgate^  and  extirpate^  will  perhaps 
think  it  well  to  except  consummate  in  order  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  adjective. 

con-tem'plate,  or  cSn'tem-plate. 

cSn'tents,  or  con-t6nts\ 

The  penultimate  accent  of  this  word  is  not  only 
well-nigh  universal  in  this  country,  but  is  sanc- 
tioned by  Webster,  Worcester,  Clarke,  and  others. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


44 

contour — kSn'tdbr'. 
cSn'trast,  noun. 
con-trast',  verh. 
con-trib'ute,  not  c6n'tri-bute.  . 
cSn'tro-vert,  not  c6n-tro-vert'. 
c6n^tU"ine-ly,  not  con-tu'me-ly. 
c5n'ver-sant,  not  con-ver^-. 
cftn-ver-sa'tion,  not  -za'-. 
con-verse',  verh  ;  c6n Verse,  noun. 
c6nVex,  not  con-v6x'. 
con-voy',  verh  ;  c5nVoy,  noun. 
Gobp'er,  or  cdbp'er. 

Smart  says  :  "  Cooper  and  its  compounds  are 
doubtful  (with  respect  to  tlie  sound  of  06)  except 
in  common  speech,  which,  in  London  at  least, 
invariably  shortens  them." 

Common  speech  means  uncultured,  non-pains- 
taking speech,  which  certainly  is  not  a  desirable 
model  to  copy  after.  The  lower  orders,  the 
world  over,  are  slipshod  in  their  articulation. 
The  most  sonorous  vowel-sounds  in  the  German 
language  are  never,  by  any  chance,  made  by  the 
common  people,  simply  because  they  require  a 
little  greater  effort  than  approximate  sounds  that 
suffice.  Cooper  for  cooper — like  hoop  for  hoop, 
root  for  root,  soon  for  soon,  soot  for  soot,  roof 
for  roof,  hoof  for  hoof,  wUnt  for  won't,  hlXm  for 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


45 


home,  hiXl  for  whole,  etc. — is  probably  one  of 
those  corruptions  which  it  is  wisdom  to  avoid. 

cbr'al,  not  co'ral. 

cordial — kord'yal?  or  kor'de-al. 

c6rd-iari-ty,  or  cor-di-^ri-ty. 

corkscrew — kork'skru. 

Corot— ko'ro'. 

co-ro'nal,  or  c6r'o-nal. 

Preference  is  given  here  to  the  first  marking, 
because  it  more  fully  brings  out  the  vowel-sounds 
and  conforms  to  the  primitive  coro'na, 

corps  d'armee  (Fr.) — kor  dar'ma^ 
corps  diplomatique  (Fr.) — ^kor  de'plo'- 

ma'teek'. 
c6r'ri-d6r. 

cor-ro'sive,  not  -ziv. 
cortege  (Fr.) — kor'tazh'. 
corvette  (Fr.) — korVet'. 
co§-m6g'ra-pliy. 
cos-tume',  or  c6s'tume. 
coterie  (Fr.) — ko'te-re'. 
couu'sel,  not  coun'sl. 
coup  d'etat  (Fr.) — ko  da'ta' 
coupe  (Fr.) — ^ko'pa'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


46 

courier — ^ko're-er. 

courrier  (Fr.) — ^ko're'a'. 

Courbet — kor'ba'. 

courteous — kur'te-tis. 

courtier — kort'yer. 

cov'er-let,  not  -lid. 

cov^et-ous,  not  -e-chiis  (antiquated). 

cow'ard-ice,  not  -ice. 

cr^n'ber-ry,  not  cr^m'-. 

creature — kret'yur. 

creek,  not  krik. 

cre'ole. 

cre^o-sote. 

crem^a-to-ry. 

.  crew — kru. 

Cromwell — ^krttm'well,  or  krSm'-. 

cru'ci-fix. 

crude. 

The  vowel  u  preceded  by  r  in  the  same  sylla- 
ble has  the  sound  of  oo, 

cru'el,  not  -il,  noi'  -til. 

cu'cum-ber,  not  kow'-  (antiquated). 

cuirass — kwe  'r  ^s'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


47 

cuirassier — kwe  'ras-ser'. 

cuisine  (Fr.)— kwe'zen'. 

culj-na-ry,  not  kiiri-. 

cu'po-la,  not  cu'pa-l6. 

Cura§oa — ^ku-ra-so'. 

cu-ra'tor. 

cur'so-ry,  not  -zo-. 

cur-tair. 

curtain — kur'tin,  not  kur^tn. 

cy-clo-pe^an. 

cy-lin'dric. 

cynosure — si'no-sliur,  6>r  -shur. 

czarowitz — zAr'o-vitz,  not  -witz. 

Czerny — ckar'ne. 


D. 

This  consonant  is  silent  only  in  the  words 
Wednesday y  handkerchiefy  and  handsome. 

daguerreotype — da-ger'o-tip. 
dahlia — dal'ya,  or  daVya. 
da,n'de-li-on,  nx)t  d^n'de-lin. 
Worcester  accents  the  penult  of  this  word. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


48 

Da'nisli,  not  D^nlsTi. 
da'ta,  07'  da'-, 
da'tum,  or  da'-, 
daub,  7iot  d6b. 
daunt,  not  dawnt. 
deaf — def. 

Webster  alone  of  all  the  orthoepists  pro- 
nounced this  word  def— 2^  pronunciation  which 
now  is  considered  very  inelegant. 

debenture — de-bent'yur. 

de  bonne  grAce  (Fr.) — de  bon'  gras'. 

debris  (Fr.)— da'bre'. 

debut  (Fr.)— da^u'. 

As  the  sound  of  the  French  u  can  not  be 
represented  in  English,  even  approximately,  or 
made  by  English  organs  of  speech  without  much 
practice,  the  safer  plan  is  to  Anglicize  both  syl- 
lables of  this  word,  and  call  it  simply  de-hu'y  or 
to  avoid  using  it  at  all. 

debutant,  debutante  (Fr.)— da'bu'tSng', 
da'bu'tSngt'. 

As  in  the  case  of  debut^  we  would  recommend 
that  these  words  be  Anglicized  in  sound,  and 
both  pronounced  dlh-u-t^nt'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6, 


49 

dgc'ade,  not  de-kad'. 

de-ca'dence. 

decalogue — dek'a-l6g,  not  -log. 

descent,  not  de 'stint. 

de-ci'sive,  not  -ziv. 

dec-li-na'tion. 

de-cliVotis. 

de-co'rous. 

The  authority  is  small,  and  is  becoming  less, 
for  saying  dec'o-roiXs^  which  is  really  as  incorrect 
as  it  would  be  to  say  sdn'o-roUs. 

de-crep'it,  not  -id. 
de-d6c'o-rotis. 
de-duce',  not  -dus'. 
de-M'cate. 

d6f-al-ca'tion,  or  de-M-ca'tion. 
def 'i-cit,  not  de-fig'it. 
de-file^ 
Sheridan  said  def'i-le, 

de-fini-tive. 

degage  (Fr.) — da'ga'zM'. 
deglutition — deg-lu-tish'un. 
degout  (Fr.) — da'go'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


50 


Delaroclie — dela'riisli'. 

de-lude',  not  -lud^ 

de-lu'sion,  not  -lu'-. 

dSm-o-ni^a-cal. 

de-mSn'stra-ble. 

de-mftn'strate,   or  dem'on-strate.     See 

consummate. 
de-m5n'stra-tive. 
denouement  (Fr.) — da'no'mfing'. 
denunciate — de-ntin'slie-at. 
depot — de'po. 

This  word  is  so  thoroughly  Anglicized  that  it 
is  in  doubtful  taste  to  pronounce  it  a  la  fran- 
paise ;  but,  Anglicized,  if  we  give  the  vowels 
their  long  sound,  the  syllables  still  have  nearly 
the  same  quantity. 

d6p-ri-va'tion. 
d6r'e-lict. 

dernier  (Fr.) — dam'ya'. 
de-ri'sive,  not  -ziv. 
Descartes — da'kart'. 
deshabille  (Fr.)— da^za^be'ya. 
de-sic'cate,  07*  dfts'ic-cate. 
Desgoffe — da'giif^ 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


51 


de-§ign',  or  de-sign'. 

The  second  pronunciation  is  seldom  heard, 
and  is  certainly  not  euphonious,  though  the 
weight  of  authority  is  in  its  favor. 

des'ig-nate,  not  d6z'-. 

de-sist',  not  -zist'. 

des'o-late,  not  dez'-. 

des-pe-ra'do,  or  -ra'-. 

des'pi-ca-ble,  not  des-pic'a-ble. 

de§-§ert'. 

des'tlne,  not  -tin. 

desuetude — des'we-tiid. 

d6s'ul-to-ry. 

de-tair,  verb. 

de'tail,  or  de-tair,  noun. 

Preference  is  given  to  the  first  marking  by 
the  later  English  authorities,  and  in  the  last  edi- 
tion of  Webster. 

det-es-ta'tion. 

detour  (Fr.)— da'tor.' 

de  trop  (Fr.) — de  tro. 

de-vas'tate,  or  dev^as-tate. 

dev-as-ta'tion. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6, 


52 

devoir  (Fr.) — dtiv-war', 

dew — du,  not  du. 

diaeresis — di-6r'e-sis. 

dialogue— di^a-l6g,  not  -lawg. 

dfa-mond. 

di-Ss'to-le. 

di'a-tribe. 

This  word  is  pronounced  dVa-tri-he  by  Smart, 
and  dl-dt' re-be  by  several  orthoepists. 

di'et-a-ry. 

dif-fu'sive,  not  -ziv. 

dig-i-talis. 

digression — de-gresli'un. 

di-late',  not  di-late'. 

di-lem'ma,  not  dl-. 

di-lu'tion,  not  -lu'-. 

din'ar-^liy. 

di-6g'e-§to,  07*  di-o-§e'§an. 

di-o-ra'ma,  or  -ra^-. 

diph-the'ri-a — dip-  or  dif-. 

dipli'tliOng — dip'-  or  dif'-. 

Worcester  and  Smart  prefer  the  former,  Web- 
ster the  latter. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


53 

diplo-m^te. 

dip-lo-m^t'ic,  not  di-plo-. 
di-pl6'ma-tist,  not  di-pl6'-,  nor  dip'lo^ 
dj-rectly,  not  di-. 
dis — dis,  or  diz. 

"  When  the  accent,  either  primary  or  secon- 
dary, is  on  this  inseparable  preposition,  the  s  is 
always  sharp  and  hissing  ;  but  when  the  accent 
is  on  the  second  syllable,  the  s  will  be  either 
hissing  or  buzzing,  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  consecutive  letter.  That  is,  if  a  sharp  mute, 
as  p^  t,  k,  or  c  hard,  succeed,  the  preceding  s  must 
be  pronounced  sharp  and  hissing,  as  dispose^ 
distaste,  etc.  ;  but  if  a  flat  mute,  as  b,  d,  or  g  hard, 
or  a  vowel  or  a  liquid,  begin  the  next  syllable, 
the  foregoing  s  must  be  sounded  like  z,  as  dis- 
burse, disdain,  etc.  ;  but  if  the  secondary  accent 
be  on  this  inseparable  preposition,  as  in  dis- 
belief, etc.,  the  5  retains  its  pure  hissing  sound." 
—  Walker. 

In  accordance  with  Walker,  Smart  says  :  "  As 
to  the  pronunciation  of  this  prefix,  the  s  is  un- 
vocal  [i.  e.,  sharp  or  hissing]  if  the  accent, 
primary  or  secondary,  is  on  the  syllable  ;  but  if 
the  next  syllable  be  accented  and  begin  with  a 
real  vowel  (not  u)  or  a  vocal  consonant  [i.  e., 
flat  mute],  the  s  is  sounded  z,  unless  the  word  is 
connected  with  a  principal  word  in  which  the  5 
is  un vocal  ;  for  in  such  case  the  derivative  fol- 
lows the  primitive." 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


54 

di§-a'ble,  or  dis-a'ble. 

di§-arm'j  not  dis-. 

di§-as-ter,  not  dis-. 

di§-b^nd',  or  dis-. 

di§-biirse',  or  dis-. 

dis-card',  not  dis'card. 

discern — diz-zern'. 

discernment — diz-zern^ment. 

dis'ci-pline,  not  di-ciplin. 

disclosure — dis-Mo  'zhur. 

dis-count'j  or  dis'count,  verh. 

Webster  stands  almost  alone  in  accenting  the 
first  syllable  of  this  word. 

discourteous — dis-kur'te-iis. 
dis-crep'an-cy,  or  dis'cre-p^n-cy. 
di§-dain,  not  dis-. 
di§-ea§e',  not  dis-. 
dis-frto'clii§e,  not  -chiz. 
di§-g6rge',  or  dis-. 
di§-grace',  or  dis-. 
di§-gui§e',  or  dis-, 
di§-gtist',  or  dis-. 
dishabille — dis-a-biV. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


55 


dishevelled— di-sli6vld. 

di§-li6n'est,  not  dis-. 

di§-li5ii'or,  not  dis-. 

dig-in'ter-est-ed,  or  dis-. 

di§-join,  or  dis-. 

dig-junc'tive,  or  dis-. 

di§-like',  or  dis-. 

di§-l6dge,  or  dis-. 

di§-loy'al,  or  dis-. 

di§-may',  or  dis-. 

di§-miss',  or  dis-. 

di§-mount',  6)r  dis-. 

di§-6r'der,  or  dis-. 

di§-6wn',  7^(9^  dis-. 

dis-po§-§ess',  or  dis-pos-sess'. 

dispossession— dis-poz-zesli'un,  or  -s6sli'-< 

dis'pu-ta-ble,  not  dis-pu'ta-ble. 

dis^pu-Mnt,  not  dis-pu'tant. 

Disraeli — diz-ra'el-e. 

di§-robe',  or  dis-. 

dis-sem'ble,  not  diz-zem'ble. 

dissociate — dis-so'she-at. 

dis'so-lute,  not  -lut. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


56 

di§-§6lve',  not  dis-s6lve'. 

dis-syl-Mbic. 

dis-sylla-ble,  or  dis'syl-la-ble. 

disticlL — dis'tik. 

distingue — des't^ng'ga'. 

distinguish — dis-ting'gwisli. 

dis'trict,  not  des'-. 

di-v^n'. 

diVerse-ly. 

di-yert',  not  dk 

di-vest',  not  di-. 

docile — dbs^il,  not  do'sil,  nor  dossil  (anti- 
quated). 

'd6c'u-ment. 

does — diiz. 

d6g,  not  daug,  nor  the  other  extreme^  dtig. 
See  accost. 

dolce — dol'clia. 

d5ro-rotis. 

d6m'i-ne,  not  do'mi-ne. 

d5n'a-tive. 

donkey — dSng'ke,  not  diing'ke. 

D5r'ic,  not  Do'ric. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


57 


dost — dftst,  not  dost. 

doth — dtith,  not  doth.    * 

double-entendre — ddb'bl-6ng't5ng'dr. 

dra'ma,  or  dr^m'a. 

And  then  there  is  an  abundance  of  unheeded 
authority  for  saying  drd'md, 

draught — draft. 

dromedary — driim'e-da-ry,  not  dr6ni'% 

drSss.     See  accost. 

drought — drowt. 

Dru'id,  not  Dru'id. 

du'bi-otis,  not  du'-. 

dtic'tile,  not  -til. 

du'el,  not  dul. 

duke,  not  duk. 

duly.     See  adduce. 

dy'nas-ty. 

Smart  and  some  others  say  dm'as-te;  and 
this  pronunciation  is  very  common,  though  by 
many  considered  vulgar. 

dys'en-ter-y,  not  diz'-. 

dys-pgp'sy. 

Worcester  and  half  a  dozen  other  orthoepists 
accent  the  first  syllable. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  & 


58 


E. 

This  vowel,  tlie  most  frequent  in  the  lan- 
guage, has  two  principal  sounds  :  long  as  in  eve, 
short  as  in  end. 

In  the  languages  of  continental  Europe  it 
generally  has  the  sound  of  a  in  /ate  or  e  in  met, 
according  to  position.  In  French,  when  un- 
marked, it  is  silent  in  many  positions,  and  in 
many  others  has  a  peculiar  and  unrepresentable 
sound,  which  when  distinct  approaches  that  of 
short  u  in  sum,  and  when  slurred  that  of  obscure 
e  in  over. 

eastward,  not  eastward. 

eau  de  vie  (Fr.) — o  de  ve. 

eclat  (Fr.)— a'kla^ 

6c-o-n6in'ic,  or  e-co-nSm'ic. 

ec-o-n6m'i-cal,  6>r  e-co-nSm'i-cal. 

The  first  is  the  marking  of  a  large  majority  of 
the  orthoepists. 

ec-u-men'i-cal. 

E'den. 

Most  words  ending  in  en  drop  the  e  in  pro- 
nunciation, as  dozen  (doz'n),  so/ten  (sof n),  oftenf> 
(of'n),  etc.  The  e  in  such  words  is  sounded 
more  frequently  by  unschooled  pedants  than  by 
the  careless.  Some  of  the  words  in  which  the  e 
should  be  sounded  are  aspen,  chicken,  hyphen, 
kitchen,  lichen,  and  marten.    The  e  is  also  sound- 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


59 


ed  when  preceded  by  ^,  m,  n,  or  r,  as  in  woolen, 
omen,  linen,  siren,  barren ;  but  fallen,  stolen, 
and  swollen  drop  the  e.  As  for  Eden,  sloven, 
sudden,  heathen,  hounden,  and  mitten,  some 
speakers  suppress  and  some  sound  the  e, 

e'dile. 

e'en — en. 

effort,  or  ef'fort.  . 

6f-fr6nt'er-y,  not  -frSnt'-. 

ef-fu^sive,  not  -ziv. 

e'go-ti§m,  or  eg'o-tigm. 

egregious — e-gre'Jus. 

either — either,  or  i'ther. 

Smart  says  that  between  e'ther  and  I'ther 
there  is  little  in  point  of  good  usage  to  choose. 
The  last  edition  of  Webster's  dictionary  says 
that  analogy,  as  well  as  the  best  and  most  gen- 
eral usage,  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  e'ther.  See 
neither. 

eleemosynary — 3l-e-m6z'e-na-re. 
e-le'gi-^c,  or  el-e-gi'ac. 

There  is  abundant  authority  for  the  second 
marking,  but  for  the  most  part,  in  this  country, 
the  word  is  made  to  conform  to  the  rule  that 
words  ending  in  ia,  iac,  ial,  ian,  eous,  and  ious 
have  the  accent  on  the  preceding  syllable  ;  as 
demoniac,  regalia,  melodious,  etc. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


60 

6l-e-pli^n'tiiie,  not  -tin. 
eleve  (Fr.) — alav'. 
eleven — e-lev'n. 
gri-gi-ble,  not  e-ligl-ble. 
elite  (Fr.)— adet^ 
E-Uz'a-b6tli-an.     - 

This  is  the  dictionary  pronunciation  of  this 
word  ;  ease  of  utterance,  however,  generally  puts 
the  accent  on  the  penult. 

Ellen— ell'en,  not  6irn,  nor  eirtin. 

Sim,  not  gVtim. 

el-o-cu'tion,  oiot  6l-e-. 

Sro-quence,  not  -kwiince. 

e-lu'ci-date,  not  -In'-.     See  aptitnde. 

e-ln'sive,  not  -^iv. 

elysian — e-lizh'e-an,  not  e-liz'e-an. 

elysium^ — e-lizli'e-tLm,  not  e-liz'e-iim. 

emaciate — e-ma'she-at. 

em-balm',  not  -b^m^ 

embrasure — em-bra'zhur. 

em-en-da'tion,  not  e-men-. 

e'mir. 

emollient — e-mSl'yent. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


61 


em-pir'ic,  or  6m^pi-ric. 

The  time  was  when  the  weight  of  authority 
was  in  favor  of  the  second  marking  ;  not  so  now. 

gm'prSss,  not  -pris.     See  ailment. 

em-py-e'ma. 

6n-ce-pMric. 

en-cy-clo-ped'ic. 

en-cy-clo-pe'dist. 

e-nerVate. 

The  only  authority  for  saying  en'er-vdte  is 
popular  usage  ;  all  the  orthoepists  say  e-ner^vdte. 

enfranchise — en-frdn'chiz,  not  -chiz. 

en'gine,  not  -Jin. 

English — ing'glisL 

e-nig'ma. 

en-ig-mat'ic  or  e-nig-m^tic. 

•  Though  the  weight  of  authority  is  against  us, 
we  nevertheless  give  the  first  place  to  Walker's 
marking  of  this  word. 

ennui  (Fr.) — 5n'we'. 
ensemble  (Fr.) — ong'sSng'bl. 
ensure — en-shur',  not  -shur'. 
en-tliu'§i-^§m,  not  -thu'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


62 


entree  (Fr.) — Sng'tra^ 

enunciate — e-nun'she-at. 

en-vgrop,  verh. 

envelope,  noun — 6ngVe-lop,  or  (better) 

enVe-lop. 
enveloppe  (Fr.) — 6ngVe-ltip'. 
en-vi'ron§,  or  6n'vi-r6n§. 

The  first  accentuation  is  cei^tainly  much  to  be 
preferred. 

ep'au-let. 
Ep-i-cu-re'an. 

Webster  alone  of  all  the  orthoepists  gave  this 
word  the  antepenultimate  accent ;  and  though  in 
the  last  edition  of  his  dictionary  the  preference  is 
given  to  this  accentuation,  we  are  distinctly  told 
in  the  "  Principles  of  Pronunciation,"  in  the  first 
part  of  the  volume,  that  Epicurean  is  one  of  a  list 
of  words  ending  in  an  which  accent  the  penult. 

epilogue — ep^i-l5g,  not  -log. 
epistle — e-pis'l. 
ep'i-t^pli,  not  -taf. 
ep'o€li,  not  e'p5eli. 

The  latter  is  a  Websterian  pronunciation, 
which  is  not  even  permitted  in  the  late  editions. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p,  6. 


63 


equable — ekSva-bl,  or  e'kwa-bl. 

Preference  is  given  here  to  Smart's  marking, 
though  he  stands  quite  alone. 

equation — e-qua'stun,  not  -zliun. 

e-qua-to'ri-al. 

equerry — ekVe-re. 

e'qui-n5x,  not  ek'-. 

equipage — ek'we-paj. 

equitable — ek^  we-ta-bl. 

equivoke — ek'we-vok. 

ere — kx ;  ere  long — ^r  l6ng. 

err — er. 

er^rand,  not  ^r'tind,  nor  ^r^ant. 

erudite — er'yu-dite,  not  6r'u-. 

The  latter  pronunciation  is  neither  euphonious 
nor  easy  of  utterance. 

erudition — er-yu-dish'un,  not  Sr-u-. 

erysipelas — er-e-sip'e-las,  not  ir-. 

es-ca-pade'. 

espionage — es'pe-o-nd-zli'. 

etli-n6g'ra-pliy. 

etui  (Fr.j— a^twe^ 

Eu-ro-pe'an,  not  Eu-ro^pe-an. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


64 


Eu-ter'pe. 

etagere  (Fr.) — a'ta'zhar'. 

ev-an-geVi-cal,  or  e-van-. 

The  first  marking  is  that  of  Walker  and 
Smart ;  the  second,  that  of  Webster  and  Worces- 
ter. Preference  is  given  here  to  the  first,  because 
it  is  thought  to  be  more  euphonious  and  more  in 
accordance  with  good  usage. 

e-va'sive,  not  -ziv. 

evening — eVn-ing,  not  evening. 

ev'er-y,  not  6v're. 

ev'i-d6nt,  not  -dimt. 

evil — eVl. 

ewe — yu,  or  yu. 

The  first  is  the  pronunciation  set  down  by 
nearly  all  the  orthoepists  ;  the  s,econd  is  that  of 
the  last  edition  of  Webster. 

ex. 

The  letter  x  in  this  prefix,  when  followed  by 
an  accented  vowel,  usually  has  the  sound  gz  (x) ; 
sometimes,  also,  in  the  derivatives  of  such  words, 
even  though  x  stands  under  the  accent,  as  exalta'- 
tion,  ex'emplary. 

When  the  accented  vowel  is  preceded  by  A, 
universal  custom  drops  the  h  if  the  sound  of  gz 
is  given  to  the  cc.  The  h  can  be  more  easily 
aspirated  when  the  x  is  pronounced  as  ks ;  but 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


65 


the  writer  inclines  to  the  opinion  that  the  h  is 
nearly  always  (from  necessity)  dropped  in  both 
cases — a  point  which  the  orthoepists  seem  to 
have  overlooked. 

e:^-^ct',  e:]^-^ct'ly,  e^-^ct'or. 

exaggerate— egz4j  'er-at. 

e:^4g-ger-a'tioii. 

e^-alt^,  6:?^-al-ta'tioii. 

e:^-am'ine,  e:^4m-i-na'tioii. 

e^-am'ple. 

e:^4s'per-ate,  e:^-^s-per-a'tion. 

ex-ci§e',  noun  and  verb  ;  ex-ci§e'man. 

ex-clu'sive,  not  -klu'ziv. 

excruciate — eks-kru'she-at.    See  accrue. 

6x^cre-tive,  or  ex-cre'tive,  adj. 

The  first  marking  is  Webster's  and  Worces- 
ter's ;  the  second,  Smart's. 

•     ex-cur'sion,  not  -zMn. 

e^-ec^u-tive. 

e:^-ec'u-tor,  e^-gc^u-trix. 

e^'em-pla-ry,  not  e^-em'pla-ry. 

exempt — egz-Smt'. 

The  letter  p  is  silent  or  very  indistinct  when 
it  occurs  between  m  and  t  in  the  same  syllable, 
as  in  tempt,  exempt,  etc. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


66 


e^-ert',  e^-er'tion. 

exhale — eks-hale'. 

exhaust — egz-aust',  or  eks-haust'. 

exhaustible— egz-austi-bl,  or  eks-haust'-. 

exhaustion— egz-aust'yun,  or  eks-haust'% 

exhibit — egz-ib'it,  or  eks-hib'it. 

exhibition — eks-he-bish'un. 

exhilarate — egz-iVa-rat,  or  eks-hira-rat. 

exhort — egz-ort',  or  eks-hort'. 

ex-hor-ta'tioUj  not  egz-or-. 

exhorter — egz-or'ter,  or  eks-hor'ter. 

ex-hume',  Webster. 

e^-hume',  Worcester. 

6x'i-gen-cy,  not  ex-ig'en-cy. 

exile,  noun — eks'il,  not  egz-iF. " 

exile,  verh — eks'il,  or  egz-il'. 

The  first  marking  is  Webster's  and  Smart's  ; 
the  second,  Walker's  and  Worcester's. 

e:5^-ist^,  e:^-ist'ence. 
ex'it,  not  egz'it. 
e:^-6n'er-ate,  e:?^-6n-er-a'tion. 
6x'o-ra-ble. 
e:}^-6r'bi-tant. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


67 

e:^-6r'di-tim. 

e5-5t'ic. 

ex-pa'tri-ate,  ex-pa-tri-a'tion. 

Webster  said  eJcs-pdt'-, 

ex'pert,  or  ex-pert',  noun. 
ex'ple-tive. 

6x'pli-ca-ble,  7iot  ex-plic'-. 
6x'pli-ca-tive. 
ex-ploit'. 
*  ex-pl6'sive,  not  -ziv. 
ex-po'nent,  not  -ntint. 
expose  (Fr.) — eks'po'za'. 
ex-pur'gate,  or  6x'pur-gate. 
ex'qui-§ite,  adj.  and  noun^  not  eks-quiz'it. 
ex't^nt^,  not  fex'tant. 

As  the  syllables  of  this  word  are  properly 
about  equal  in  quantity,  it  is  thought  to  be  mis- 
leading to  put  a  mark  of  accentuation  over  the 
first  one  only. 

ex-tSm'po-re,  not  -tem'por. 
extinguisli — eks-ting'gwisli. 
ex-tir'pate,  or  6x'tir-pate. 
6x'tra,  not  6ks'tre. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


68 


extraordinary — ex-tror'di-na-ry. 
exuberant — egz-yu'ber-ant. 
e^-ude'. 
ex-u-da'tion. 
e:^-1ilt',  e^-tilt'ant. 
ex-ul-ta'tion. 
eyre — kr. 

eyry — ar'e,  or  a're,  or  e're,  or  i're. 
Good  authority  for  every  one  of  them.  Choose ! 


F. 

This  letter  has  always  the  same  sound  except 
in  the  preposition  of  and  its  compounds,  where  it 
has  the  sound  of  v.     It  is  never  silent. 

In  German,  v  has  the  sound  of  /. 

facade  (Fr.)— fa^sM'. 

facial — fa'shal. 

facile — f^s'il. 

fa,c-sim'i-le. 

failure — ^fal'yur. 

fait  accompli  (Fr.) — fa'ta'cSng'ple'. 

falchion — ^faurcliun,  or  -sliun. 

falcon — f aw'kn,  not  fd-l'kn. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


69 

fa-mil-i4r'i-ty,  -ye-^r'e-te,  or  -y^r'e-te. 

f Ar'o,  not  fa'ro. 

fascia — Msli'e-a. 

faubourg   (Fr.) — ^fo'bor' ;    Anglicized, 

fo'borg. 
fau'cet,  not  iMl-, 
fault,  not  f 6lt. 
Faure — for. 
faVor-ite,  not  -it. 
feb^ri-fuge. 
fe'brile,  or  feb'rile. 
F6b'ru-a-ry,  not  -ru-. 
fec'und,  not  fe'cund. 
fSc'un-date,  or  f e-ctin'date. 
f6c-un-da'tion. 
fgm'i-nine,  not  -nin. 
fem'o-ral. 
feoff— fgf. 

ferrule,  a  metal  ring — f gr'ril,  or  f er'rul. 
f er'tile,  not  -til. 
ferule — fer'ril,  or  fer'rul. 
fi-deri-ty,  not  fi-. 
filet  de  bcBuf  (Fr.)— fela^  de  b6f'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


70' 


figure — fig'yiir,  not  fig'er. 

filial— firyal,'  not  firi-al. 

film,  not  firiiin. 

fi-na'le,  not  f e-n^P,  nor  fi-nar. 

fi-Mnce',  not  fi'nance ;  jpl.^  fi-Mn'ce§. 

fin-an-cier'. 

This  much-used  word  is  rarely  pronounced 
correctly. 

finesse  (Fr.) — fe'nes'. 

fiord  (Swedish) — ^fe-ord'.  ' 

first,  not  fiirst. 

fissure — fish'yur. 

flaccid — ^fl^k'sid,  not  fl^s'id. 

flageolet — ^fl^j'o-let. 

flambeau — ^fl^m'bo'. 

flatiron — fl^t'i-urn. 

flaunt — flant,  not  flawnt. 

fleur  de  lis  (Fr.) — flaur  de  le. 

The  sound  of  the  diphthong  eu  in  French  is 
very  like  the  sound  of  u  in  urge  initiated  with 
the  long  sound  of  a — i.  e.,  with  long  a  barely 
touched  before  sounding  the  'd, 

flew — flu,  not  flu. 
flexion — ^flek'shun. 


't,^  See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


71 


flSr'id,  flo-ridi-ty. 
fl6r'in,  not  flo'rin. 
flo'rist,  not  flSr'ist. 
flue,  not  flu.     See  adduce, 
flu'id,  not  flu'id. 
flute,  not  flut. 
foli-o,  or  forio. 
forbade — ^for-bM'. 
forecastle — for'kas-sl. 
f  ore'f  a-tiier,  not  for-f  aether  (antiquated), 
forehead — ^f6r'ed. 
For'hed  nowadays  is  hardly  permissible. 

foresaid — ^fore'sed,  not  -sad. 

f6r'est,  not  -ist. 

forge,  not  forj. 

forager,  f or'ger-y. 

for-get',  not  -git'. 

for'mi-da-ble,  not  f or-mid'a-ble. 

fort'niglit. 

In  the  early  editions  of  Webster's  dictionary 
this  word  was  marked  fdrt'mt,  which  possibly 
accounts  for  this  pronunciation  being  so  common 
with  us.  In  England  it  is  the  universal  custom 
to  sound  the  i  long. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


72 


for'tress,  not  fort'res. 

fortune — fort'yun. 

fr^g'men-ta-ry,  not  frag-ment'a-iy. 

francMse — fr^n'cliiz,  not  -cliiz. 

fr^nk-in'cense,  or  fr^nk'in-cense. 

The  first  marking  is  Webster's  ;  the  second, 
that  of  nearly  all  the  other  orthoepists.  Ease  of 
utterance,  as  well  as  the  etymology  of  the  word, 
will  probably  make  Webster's  marking  generally 
preferred. 

fra-ter'nize,  or  fra'ter-nize. 

fr^t'ri-cide,  Qiot  fra'-. 

fre-quent',  verb  ^  not  fre'quent. 

The  latter  was  the  marking  in  the  early  edi- 
tions of  Webster. 

Frere — frar. 

Frey  cine  t — ^f ra'se  'mJ. 

fricandeau  (Fr.) — fre'k6ng'do\ 

fricassee  (Fr.) — fre'ka'sa'. 

This  word  may  properly  be  treated  as  Angli- 
cized— fric-as-see^ 

frontier — ^frSn'ter. 

Webster  marked  this  word  fron-ter'^  but  this 
accentuation  has  been  abandoned  in  the  new 
editions. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


73 

frSnt'is-piece,  not  frtint\ 
frSst.     See  accost. 
Froude — ^frdbd. 
fru'gal.     See  accrue, 
f u'el,  not  ivi!\  nor  fu'ul. 
furcrum. 

fiil'some,  not  iooY-. 
furniture — fur'nit-yur. 
fu'tile,  not  -til. 
future — ^fut'yur. 


This  consonant  has  two  sounds,  one  hard  and 
one  soft.  It  is  hard  before  a,  o,  and  u^  except 
in  gaol^  which  is  usually  written  as  well  as  pro- 
nounced Ja^7. 

Before  6,  ^,  and  y  it  is  sometimes  hard  and 
sometimes  soft.  It  is  generally  soft  in  words 
from  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  French,  as  in  gentle^ 
geology^  giant ^  gymnast ^  etc.,  and  hard  in  words 
from  the  Saxon.  These  last  are  much  in  the 
minority.  Some  of  them  are  gear^  get,  gewgaw, 
eager,  gift,  gig,  gild,  gird,  girl,  rugged,  foggy y 
muggy,  scraggy,  etc. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


74 


The  g  of  ng  is  often  pronounced  as  though 
doubled  ;  as  in  England^  younger  (ing'gland, 
young'ger).  Before  the  verbal  suffixes  ed^  est^ 
ing,  er,  it  loses  this  double  effect ;  as  in  loing'edy 
hring'esty  sing'ing,  hang'er.     See  N, 

g^b-ar-dine'. 

Gade,  N.  W. — ga'de. 

Gaelic — galik. 

gain'say'. 

'gainst — ^genst. 

g^ri-ot. 

g^riant,  hrave^  daring^  jme. 

gal-Mnt',  polite  and  attentive  to  ladies. 

gallows — ga^rius.     See  bellows. 

galsome — gawrsum. 

ganglion — g^ng'gli-on. 

gangrene — g^ng'gren. 

Ganz — ^gants. 

gaol— Jail. 

gape— gap,  or  gap. 

The  latter  is  the  marking  of  Smart  and  sev- ' 
eral  others,  and  is  frequently  followed  in  Eng- 
land. 


garden— gar'dn,  or  gar'den. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


75 


Garibaldi — ga-re-ba,rdi. 
gArish,  usually  written  gMr'isli. 
g^r'ra-lous,  not  g&r'yU"?  ^^^  -y^-* 
g^s,  not  g^z.    ' 
ga§'e-oiis,  not  g^s^-. 
ga§-6ni'e-ter. 
gasp,  not  g^sp. 
ga.tii'er,  not  ggtii'-. 
gaunt — gant,  not  gawnt. 
gauntlet — gantlet,  not  gawnt'-. 
Gautier,  TheopMe — ^ta'o-fer  got'ya'. 
gSn-e-^ro-gy,  or  ge-ne-^l'o-gy. 
gen'er-al-ly,  not  gen'rul-ly. 
.  genial — ^jen^al,  or  je'ni-al. 
genius — ^jen'yus,  or  je'ne-iis. 
Genoa — ^jen'o-a,  not  je-no'a. 
gen'tle-mSn,  not  -mlin. 
gents. 

Supposed  to  be  an  abbreviation  of  gentlemen. 
Pronounced — except  by  the  very  lowest  orders — • 
the  most  nauseating  of  vulgarisms. 

genuine — ^j6n'yu-in,  not  -in. 
ge-Og'ra-phy,  not  j6g'ra-fe. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


76 


ge-ttm'e-try. 

Gerome — zha'rom'. 

Gertrude — ^ger^trud,  not  -trud. 

ger'und,  not  je'rund.    - 

gesture — ^jest'yur. 

get,  not  git. 

ghoul  (Turk.) — gdbl. 

In  the  digraph  gh  at  the  beginning  of  a  word, 
the  h  is  silent,  as  in  ghost,  ghastly,  etc.  ;  at  the 
end  of  a  word  both  letters  are  usually  silent,  as  in 
high,  sigh,  neigh,  hough,  through,  borough,  etc. 
In  some  words  this  digraph  has  the  sound  of  f, 
as  in  enough,  tough,  cough,  laugh  ;  in  some  the 
sound  of  Jc,  as  in  hough  and  lough, 

giaour  (Turk.) — jowr. 

gib'bous,  not  jib'-. 

gi-gan-te'an. 

Gil  Bias  (Sp.) — hel  bias,  not  zliel  bla. 

gi-rMe',  not  gi-. 

gird,  girl,  girtk. 

The  sound  of  i  before  r,  resembling  u  in 
surge,  is  precisely  like  the  sound  of  e  in  ermine. 
See  advertisement. 


glacial — gla'ske-al. 
glacier — gMs'e-er. 


See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


77 

glance,  gMnd,  glass,  gMd. 

Glau'ber,  not  gl5b'er. 

glisten — glis'n. 

glue,  not  glu. 

G6d,  not  gaud ;  gSdlike,  not  gaudlike. 

golden — gold'n,  not  gorden.  • 

g6n'do-la,  not  gon-dola. 

gone — g6n,  not  gaun. 

gdb§e'ber-ry,  not  gobs'-. 

gorgeous — gor'jiis,  not  gor'je-tls. 

gSs'pel,  not  gaus'-. 

Gounod — go'no'. 

gourd — gord. 

gouvernante  (Fr.) — goVar'naunt'. 

gov-er-n^nte^ 

gov'ern-ment,  not  guv'er-mtint. 

gov'erii-or. 

Graefe — gra'f e,  not  graf. 

gramme  (Fr.)^gram. 

gr^n'a-ry,  not  gra'na-re  (antiquated). 

gra'tis,  or  gr^t'is. 

grease,  noun — gres. 

grease,  verh — grez,  not  gres. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


78 

greag'y. 

grew — ^gru,  not  gru. 

gridiron — grid'i-urn. 

griev'oils,  not  grevi-iis. 

gri-mace^,  not  grim'ace. 

gri-markin,  not  -maul'-. 

grrmy,  not  grimy. 

grisette  (Fr.) — gre'zet'. 

groat — grant. 

grovel — grSvl. 

grn'el,  not  gru'-.     See  accrue. 

guano  (Sp.) — gwa^no. 

guardian — gard'e-an,  or  gard'yan. 

The  second  marking  is  Smart's  ;   the  first, 
Worcester's  and  Webster's. 

gu-ber-na-to'ri-al,  not  gtib-. 
guillotine — gil-lo-ten'. 
guipure  (Fr.) — ^ge^pur'. 
Guizot  (Fr.) — ^ge'zo^ 

The  office  of  the  u  here  is  simply  to  make  the 
g  hard. 

gum-arabic — gtim-^r'a-bik,  not  -a-ra'bik. 
Gumbert — gdbm'bert. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


79 

gtimg,  not  g(3bniz. 
gtin'stSck,  not  -stauk. 
g&t'ta-per'clia,  not  -ka. 
gym-iia'§i-tim. 
gypsum — ^jip'sum, 
gyve— jiv,  not  giv. 


H. 

This  letter  is  merely  an  aspiration.  It  is 
silent  in  heir,  heiresSy  herh^  herbage,  honest,  honor , 
hour,  hostler,  and  their  derivatives.  It  is  also 
marked  as  silent  by  most  orthoepists  in  hospital, 
humor,  and  humble,  and  their  derivatives.  By 
some  it  is  thought  that  there  is  an  increasing 
tendency  to  sound  the  h  in  these  words  ;  this  is 
undoubtedly  true  with  regard  to  hospital,  H  is 
silent  after  initial  g,  as  in  ghost,  ghastly,  etc.  ; 
after  r,  as  in  rhetoric,  rhyme,  etc.  ;  and  also 
when  preceded  by  a  vowel  in  the  same  syllable, 
as  in  oh,  Jehovah,  etc. 

The  French  talk  about  their  aspirated  A's,  but 
they  never  aspirate  any. 

In  German  the  effect  of  A  in  many  cases  is 
simply  to  prolong  the  sound  of  the  preceding 
vowel ;  and  in  all  the  continental  languages  it 
has  no  effect  after  t. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


80 

Haeckel — hgck^el. 

halcyon — ^]ia,rse-tin,  or  ha^rslie-iiii. 

talf,  not  \SSi. 

halibut— hsre-btit. 

halve,  not  halve. 

handkerchief— hang'ker-chif;  ^/.,  -chifs. 

handsome — ^h^n'sum. 

h^r'ass,  not  ha-rd^s'. 

ha'rem. 

haricot  (Fr.) — a're'ko'. 

harlequin — ^har'le-kwin,  or  -kin. 

Nearly  all  the  orthoepists  pronounce  tlie  last 
syllable  of  this  word  hm.  Why  ?  Because  the 
word  comes  to  us  through  the  French,  in  which 
the  u  is  silent  ?  Inasmuch  as  in  every  other  re- 
spect the  word  has  been  thoroughly  Anglicized, 
it  would  seem  that  the  pronunciation  of  this 
syllable  should  be  Anglicized  also. 

har-ni6n'i-ca. 

H^r'ri-et,  not  har'-. 

hasten — has'n,  not  has^ten. 

haunch — hanch,  not  haunch. 

Hause — how'ze. 

haunt — ^hant,  not  hawnt. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


81 


he,  pronoun — ^he. 

When  emphatic,  this  is  pronounced  as  marked; 
otherwise  the  h  is  but  slightly  aspirated,  and  the 
vowel  becomes  obscure.     See  him. 

"  A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  dear." 

—  Goldsmith, 

"  He  who  goes  to  bed,  and  goes  to  bed  sober. 
Falls  as  the  leaves  do,  and  dies  in  October  ; 
But  he  who  goes  to  bed,  and  goes  to  bed  mellow, 
Lives  as  he  ought  to  do,  and  dies  an  honest  fel- 
low."* 

heard — herd,  not  herd  (antiquated). 

hearth — harth,  not  herth,  except  in  verse. 

heaven — hSv'n. 

Hebrew — he'bru,  not  -bru. 

He^e. 

he-gf  ra,  or  h6gi-ra. 

height — hit. 

Hei'ne,  nothing. 

Final  e  in  German  is  never  silent. 

heinous — ^ha'nus. 

Hsren,  not  Hgriin. 

Hellenic — hel-le'nik,  Smart ;  hel-l6nik, 

Webster ;  h6lle-nik,  "Worcester. 

h6hn,  not  hgrtim. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


82 

Hemans — ^liSni'aiiz,  not  he'manz. 
her — ^her. 

So  pronounced  when  emphatic  ;  otherwise  the 
h  is  but  slightly  aspirated  and  the  vowel  becomes 
obscure.     See  him, 

he-r^rdic. 
herb — erb. 

Smart  says  herh, 

herbaceous — her-ba'shus. 

herbage — er'baj,  or  her'baj. 

her-biv'or-oiis. 

hereof —her-ftv',  or  -6i5'. 

herewith — her-with',  or  -with'. 

her'o-ine,  not  he'ro-in,  nor  he'ro-in. 

her'o-i§m. 

het'er-o-d6x. 

h6t-er-6p'a-thy. 

Heyse — hi'ze. 

hi-a'tus. 

hi'ber-nate. 

hiccough — hik'kup. 

hi-er-o-glyph'ic,  not  hi-ro-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6, 


83 


him,  pronoun — ^him. 

When  not  emphatic,  the  h  is  but  slightly 
aspirated,  and  the  vowel  becomes  very  obscure. 
In  ordinary  conversation  initial  h  is  frequently 
dropped  entirely,  in  the  pronouns,  by  those  whose 
articulation  is  least  faulty.  There  are  not  a  few, 
however,  who,  when  they  appear  in  public  and 
are  "  on  their  mettle,"  studiously  avoid  slurring 
the  pronouns,  and  consequently  are  careful  to 
aspirate  the  h  distinctly  in  his,  her,  he,  and  him, 
no  matter  whether  the  thought  demands  that  the 
pronoun  should  be  emphasized  or  not ;  but  in 
their  endeavor  to  be  nicely  correct,  they  simply 
succeed  in  being  pedantically  wrong.  This  error 
seriously  mars  the  delivery  of  many  actors  and 
public  readers,  making  their  elocution  stilted  and 
unnatural.  Many  of  them  slur  my,  not  unfre- 
quently  making  it  me,  in  fact,  when  the  y  should 
retain  its  long  sound  ;  but  they  seem  to  think  it 
would  be  a  heinous  offence  to  treat  the  other 
pronouns  in  a  like  manner.  Pronouns  in  which 
the  letters  should  have  their  full  value  are  met 
with  only  at  considerable  intervals. 

Hin-ddo',  or  Hin'doo. 

hip-po-p6t'a-miis. 

Mr-sute'. 

Ms,  pronoun — Wz.     See  Mm. 
"  The  bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God." —  Gray. 

''His  was  a  life  of  toil  and  penury,  while 
m^ine  is  a  life  of  ease  and  plenty." 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


84 


Ms'to-ry,  not  his'tiy. 
Mtii^er-most. 

The  0  in  most  is  always  long, 
hsriy-libck,  not  -hank. 
liSro-caust,  not  holo-. 
liSm'age,  not  6m'-. 
homely,  not  htimly. 
homestead — ^home'stSd,  not  -stid. 
ho-mce-6p'a-thy,  not  ho'moe-o-p^th-y. 
ho-mo-ge'ne-otis. 
Smart  says  h6m-o-, 

honest — 5n'est,  not  -ist,  no7'  -tist. 

"Honest,  l[ionest  lago,"  is  preferable  to  "hon- 
ust^  hotiust  lago,"  some  of  our  accidental  Othellos 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense  (Fr.) — 6-ne 

swa  ke  m^l  e  p5ngss. 
hoof.     See  cooper, 
ho-ri'zon,  not  h6r'i-zon. 
hftr'o-scope,  not  ho'ro-scope. 
hors  de  combat  (Fr.) — or  de  kawng'ba'. 
horse-rM'ish,  not  -redish. 
h6s'pi-ta-ble,  not  hos-pit'a-ble. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


85 

li6s'pi-tal,  not  6s'pi-tal  (antiquated). 

hostler — Ssler. 

hound — ^hownd,  not  hown. 

housewife — ^housVif,  or  huz'zif. 

As  applied  to  a  little  workbag  used  by  women, 
the  word  has  the  latter  pronunciation  ;  but  it 
seems  to  be  now  seldom  used  in  this  sense. 

h5v'el,  not  hSv'l. 

hov'er,  not  h6v^-. 

humble — ^tim'bl,  or  htim'bl.    - 

humor — ^yu'mur,  or  hu'mur. 

Smart  pronounces  this  word  hu'mur  when  it 
means  moisture,  as  in  a  man's  body,  and  yu'mur 
in  the  other  senses. 

humorist — yu'mor-ist. 

hiin'dred,  not  hiln'durd  (antiquated). 

hungry — ^hting'gre,  not  hung'ger-e. 

hy-dr6m'e-ter. 

hy^-drSp'a-thy,  not  hi'dro-p^th-e. 

hy^gi-ene. 

hy-me-ne^al. 

hy-per'bo-le,  not  hf  per-bol. 

hyp-o-€h5n^dri-^c,  not  hi^po-. 

hypocrisy — ^he-p5kYe-se,  not  hi-p6k'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


86 


hyp-o-crit'i-cal,  not  hi-po-. 

hyp-o-g^s'tric. 

hypothenuse — ^lii-pStli'e-iiiis,  not  -nuz. 

This  word  is  very  frequently — perhaps  most 
commonly  among  mathematicians — pronounced 
hip-6t'e-nuse ;  but  Smart  is  the  only  orthoepist 
who  sanctions  that  pronunciation. 

hy-po-tlietic,  not  liip-o-. 


This  vowel  has  two  principal  sounds,  a  long 
and  a  short,  as  in  dine  and  din.  It  also  has  three 
secondary  sounds,  heard  in  marine^fir^  and  ruin 
respectively. 

I. 

This  pronoun,  in  common  with  all  the  other 
pronouns  of  the  language,  and  a  long  list  of  the 
particles,  is  touched  more  or  less  lightly  when  it 
is  not  emphatic.  Unemphatic,  it  becomes  i  in- 
stead of  I. 

i-de'a,  not  Tde-a. 

id-i-o-syn'cra-sy,  not  id-i-os-in'cra-sy. 
i'dol,  not  i'dl. 
ig-no-ra'mus,  or  -ra^mus. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


87 


il-lu'sive,  not  -ziv. 

il-ltls'trate,  not  illus-trate. 

il-liis'trat-ed,  not  illus-trat-ed. 

im'age-ry,  or  im'a-ger-y. 

The  latter  is  preferred  by  Walker,  Smart, 
Worcester,  and  others  ;  but  usage  is  decidedly 
in  favor  of  the  former. 

imbecile — ^im'be-cil,  im-b6s'il,  or  im-be- 

ser. 

The  first  mode  given  here  of  pronouncing  this 
word  is  the  most  correct,  the  second  the  most 
unusual,  and  the  third  the  most  fashionable. 

im-brue'.     See  accrue. 

im-me'di-ate,  not  im-me'jet. 

irn'mi-nent.     See  ailment. 

impartiality — ^im-par-slie-^ri-te. 

im-pec'ca-ble. 

im-per'fect.     See  advertisement. 

im'pi-otis-ly,  not  jm-pi'-. 

im-pla'ca-ble,  not  im-pMk'-. 

im-por-tiine',  not  im-p6r^-. 

im-pro-vi§e',  not  im'pro-vi§e. 

Worcester  says  im-pro-vez' ^  but  this  pronun- 
ciation is  rarely  heard. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


88  • 

jn-au'gu-rate,  not  in-au'ger-ate. 

in-ci'sive,  not  -ziv. 

in-ci'§or.       . 

incisure — ^in-sizli'iir. 

in-clem^en-cy,  not  -un-. 

in-cliide',  not  -Mud'. 

in-clu'sive,  not  -ziv. 

in-c6g'ni-t6,  not  in-c6n'-. 

in-com-men'su-ra-ble  (-shu-). 

in-c6m^pa-ra-ble,  not  -kom-pAr'-. 

incongruent — in-k6ng'gru-eut. 

incongruity — in-kon-gru  'i-ty . 

incongruous — in-k6ng'gru-otis. 

in-con-ven'ient. 

Walker  and  Smart  say  m-Tcon-ve'ne-ent, 

in-crease',  verh  ;  in'crease,  noun. 

For  the  noun  the  ultimate  accent  is  becoming 
antiquated. 

incursion — in-kur'sliun,  not  -zkun. 

in-de'cent.     See  ailment. 

in-de-co^rotis. 

This  pronunciation  is  not  only  more  so^iorous 
than  in-dec' o-roiXSy  but  it  now  has  the  balance  of 
authority  in  its  favor.     See  decorous. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


89 

indenture — in-d6nt'yur. 
Indian. 

This  word  is  generally  pronounced  Wdi-an, 
though  the  orthoepists,  for  the  most  part,  would 
have  us  say  md'yan, 

in'di-ca-to-iy,  not  in-dic'-. 
indiscernible — ^in-diz-zem'i-ble. 
in-dis^pu-ta-ble,  not  in-dis-pn'ta-ble. 
indocile — in-d6sll. 
in'dus-try,  not  in-dtis'-. 
inequitable — in-6k'we-ta-ble. 
inertia — in-er^she-a. 
inexhaustible — in-egz-aust'i-ble. 
in-6x'o-ra-ble,  not  in-ex-6^-. 
in-ex^pi-a-ble. 

in-6x'pli-ca-ble,  not  -ex-plik'-. 
in-ex'tri-ca-ble. 
in'fan-tile,  or  in^fan-tile. 
in'fan-tine,  or  in'fan-tine. 
in-fgc'und. 
in'fi-d6l,  not  in'fi-dL 
Ingelo  w^ — ^in^  j  e-lo. 
in-gen'iolis,  or  in-ge^ni-oiis. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


90 


in-ge-nu'i-ty,  not  -nob'-. 

in-gen^u-oiis. 

ingratiate — in-gra'slie-at,  not  in-gra'shat. 

in-li5s'pi-ta-ble,  not  in-hos-pit^a-ble. 

in-im'i-cal. 

Smart  says  m-e-mVcal. 

initiate — in-isli'e-at. 

in'most,  7iot  in^mlist. 

in-nate'. 

This  is  the  marking  of  nearly  all  the  orthoe- 
pists  except  Webster,  who  says  m'ndte, 

in'no-cent,  not  -sunt.     See  ailment. 

innoxious — in-nSk'sliu  s. 

inofficial — in-of-fisli'al,  not  -o-fish'-. 

in-5p-por-tune',  not  in-6p'por-tune. 

jn-qui^ry,  not  in^qui-ry: 

insatiable — in-sa'she-a-bl,  7iot  -slia-bl. 

in-sa-ti'e-ty. 

in-scru'ta-ble. 

in'sgcts,  not  -sets. 

in-sid^i-oiis,  not  -yu-us. 

insition — in-sisli'un,  or  -sizh'-. 

in-st6ad'j  not  -stid'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


91 


in'stgp,  not  -stip. 

in'stinct,  noun;  in-stinct',  adj. 

in-sti-tu'tion,  not  -tu'-. 

in^stru-ment,  not  -miint. 

insurance — in-shur'ans^. 

insure — in-shur'. 

in'te-gral. 

in'ter-est,  verh^  not  in-ter-6st'. 

in^ter-est,  noun^  not  in'trest. 

in'ter-est-ed,  not  in-ter-6st'ed. 

in'ter-est-ing,  not  in-ter-estlng. 

In  the  dictionaries  some  stress  on  the  third 
syllable,  in  the  verb  and  its  derivatives,  is  indi- 
cated by  marking  the  e  as  distinct — est ;  and  that 
was  formerly  the  prevalent  pronunciation.  But 
the  most  careful  speakers  now  generally  make  the 
third  syllable  as  obscure  in  the  verb  and  partici- 
ples as  they  do  in  the  noun. 

in'ter-im. 

in-ter-l6c'u-tor,  not  in-ter-lo-cu^tor. 

international — in-ter-n^sli'un-al. 

in-ter^po-late. 

in'ter-stice,  or  in-ter'stice. 

The  authorities  here  are  about  equally  divided. 
Smart  accents  the  second  syllable. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


92 


in-tgs'tine,  not  -tine, 
in-trigue',  noun  and  verh^  not  in'trigue. 
in-tro-duce',  not  -dus'.     See  aptitude, 
in-trude'.     See  accrue. 
in-trii'§ioii. 

in-tru'sive,  not  -ziv.  ; 

in-tu'i-tive.     See  adduce, 
inure — in-yur'. 
inVa-lid.     See  ambergris, 
inveigle — in-ve'gl,  not  -va'gl. 
inVen-to-ry,  not  in-v6n'to-ry. 
Iphigenia— -if-i-je-ni'a. 
i-r^s'ci-ble. 

i'o-dide,  or  -dide.     See  chloride, 
i'o-dme,  or  -dine. 
Iowa — ^i^o-wa. 
iron — i'urn. 
irony,  adj. — i'urn-e. 
'    irony,  noun — i'run-e. 
irrational — ir-r^sli'un-al. 
ir-r6f'ra-ga-ble. 

There  is  authority  for  saying  ir-re-frdg'a-hl, 
which  certainly  is  much  easier  of  utterance. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


93 


ir-re-fut'a-ble,  or  ir-r6f  u-ta-ble. 

Here,  though  the  first  marking  is  that  of  the 
majority  of  the  orthoepists,  and  though  it  has 
the  advantage  of  being  the  easier  of  utterance, 
the  second  marking  may  possibly  be  considered 
the  more  elegant. 

ir-re-me'di-a-ble. 
ir-rep'a-ra-ble,  not  ir-re-p4r'a-bl. 
ir-r6s'pi-ra-ble. 

ir-rev'o-ca-ble,  not  ir-re-vo'ka-bl. 
isinglass — i'zing-glas. 
isocliroiious — ^i-s6k'ro-niis. 
i§'o-late,  or  is'o-late,  not  i'so-lat. 

The  first  marking  is  Walker's,  Worcester's, 
and  Smart's  ;  the  second,  Webster's. 

i-s6m'er-i§m. 

issue — ^ish'sliu. 

isthmus — ^is'mus,  or  ist'mus. 

Italian — i-t^ryan,  Twt  i-. 

i-t^l'ic,  not  i-. 

i-tin'er-ant. 

iVo-ry,  not  iv'ry. 

Ixion — iks-i'on. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


94 


This  consonant  has  always  the  same  sound, 
and  is  never  silent. 

In  words  in  which  d  precedes  a  letter  having 
or  embodying  the  sound  of  y  in  an  unaccented 
syllable,  the  sound  of  J  is  often  substituted  for 
the  combined  sounds  of  d  and  y — as  sol'jer  instead 
of  sold'yer^  and  moj'u-lat  instead  of  mod'u-ldt — 
just  as  ch  is  substituted  for  the  combined  sounds 
of  ^  and  2/  in  question,  nature,  etc.  It  is  doubtless 
possible  to  preserve  the  pure  sounds  of  d  and  y 
where  they  appear  in  these  connections,  but  it  is 
well-nigh  certain  that  the  most  careful  speakers 
generally  fail  to  do  it. 

Ja'cob,  not  ja'cop. 

ja,g-ii-ar',  not  j^g'war,  nor  ja'gar. 

j^rap,  not  jSVup  (antiquated). 

Jan'ty,  not  jaun'ty. 

J^n'u-a-ry,  not  jen'-. 

Jap-an-e§e',  oiot  -ese\ 

ja.§'mine,  or  j^s'mine. 

jaundice — jan'dis. 

jaunt — jant. 

javelin — ja,v'lin. 

jer-e-mi'ade. 

Je-ru'sa-lem,  not  -za-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


95 

Jew — ju,  or  ju. 

jewel — ^ju^el,  not  |iil. 

jew'el-ler. 

jo-cose'. 

jSc'und. 

join. 

Until  toward  the  close  of  the  last  century  the 
diphthong  oi  was  very  generally  pronounced  like 
long  ^,  asjine  instead  oijoin,  rile  instead  of  roil, 
etc.;  but  now  this  pronunciation  is  confined  to 
persons  of  the  most  limited  culture. 

joist,  not  jist. 

jostle — ^jSs'sl. 

joust— just. 

joVi-al,  7iot  jov'yal. 

jowl — ^jol,  not  jowl. 

Ju-da'ic. 

jtidg'ment,  not  -lamni. 

ju'gu-lar,  not  jiig'-. 

Julia,  not  juF-. 

Ju'pi-ter,  not  ju'bi-. 

ju-ris-c6n'sult. 

ju'rist,  not  ju'-. 

ju've-nile,  not  -nil  (antiquated). 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


96 


K 

This  letter  before  all  the  vowels  has  one  uni- 
form sound.  Before  n  in  the  same  syllable  it  is 
silent,  as  in  Jcneel^  lenity  knoWy  etc. ;  it  is  likewise 
silent  after  c,  as  in  hack,  crack,  haddock,  etc. 

kangaroo — Mng-ga-rob  \ 

keelson — ^kel'son,  or  keP-. 

kSt'tle,  not  kit^tl. 

klian  (Turk.) — kawn,  or  k^n. 

kiln — ^kil,  not  kiln. 

kind. 

When  dy  %  or  i  is  preceded  in  the  same  sylla- 
ble by  the  sound  of  g  or  k,  many  speakers,  espe- 
cially in  England  and  our  Southern  States,  intro- 
duce a  slight  sound  of  e,  as  in  car,  cardy  kind, 
garderiy  guard,  guide,  girly  skyy  etc.  If  not  car- 
ried too  far,  this  can  hardly  be  considered  objec- 
tionable, as  it  effectually  corrects  a  certain  gut- 
tural utterance  of  these  words  that  the  best  usage 
is  careful  to  avoid. 

kirsckwasser  (Ger.) — ^kersk'vas-ser. 
kitch'en,  not  kitck'n. 
knout — ^nowt. 

knowledge — nftl'ej ;  nolej  is  very  anti- 
quated. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


97 


This  liquid  consonant  always  has  the  same 
sound.  In  many  words  it  is  silent,  as  in  halm, 
calm,  half,  calf,  almond,  palmier,  walk,  could, 
should,  etc. 

la'bel,  not  la'bl. 

la'bor-er,  not  la'brur. 

labyrintli — ^l^b'e-rinth. 

M^li^iy-inose,  not  -moz. 

Mc'o-iii§m,  not  la'co-. 

Mm^ent-a-ble,  not  la-mgnt'a-bl. 

Mn'dau  (au  as  in  haul). 

Lange,  G. — lang'e. 

lang  syne — ^lang  sin,  not  -zin. 

language — Mng'gwaJ. 

languid — Mng'gwid. 

languor — ^la^ng'gwor. 

La-6c'o-5n. 

la-pel',  not  Mp'el. 

Mr'um. 

la-ryn'ge-al. 

la'tent,  not  Mt'-. 

lath,  or  lath,  nx)t  Mth. 

See  Key  to  PronunciatioD,  p.  6. 


98 


LMin,  not  Mt'n. 

Mt'tice,  not  Mt'tus. 

laud^a-nUm,  not  l6d'-. 

laugh — ^laf,  not  Mf . 

launcli — ^lancli,  not  launcli. 

laundress — lan'dres,  not  laun'-. 

laundry — ^lan'dre,  not  laun^-. 

laurel — lau'rel,  or  l6r'-. 

laVa,  or  laVa. 

leaped — ^lept,  or  lept. 

learn'gd,  adj.     See  blessed. 

leeward — le'ward,  or  lu'ard. 

le'gend,  or  leg'end. 

I8g'en-da-ry. 

legislative — ^16J  'is-la-ti  v. 

legislator — ^I6jls-la-tur,  not  -la'tor. 

legislature — 16J  'is-lat-yur. 

For  an  obvious  reason  these  three  words  are 
much  mispronounced.  There  is  small  authority 
for  the  penultimate  accent  which  ease  of  utter- 
ance generally  gives  them,  and  none  for  the  ante- 
penultimate {le-gis'la-tive,  etc.)  which  some  affect. 

Leipsic,  in  Saxony — lip'sik. 
Leipsic,  in  the  United  States — lep'sik. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


99 

leisure — le'zhur. 

This  is  the  only  way  of  pronouncing  this  word 
that  nowadays  is  admissible  in  this  country.  In 
England,  however,  lezh'ur  is  common,  although 
not  sanctioned  by  any  modern  orthoepist. 

iSngth,  not  lenth. 

le'ni-ent,  not  I6u'-. 

len'i-tive,  not  le'ni-. 

Igp'er,  not  le^per. 

Leroux — le-rdb'. 

I6s's6r,  or  les-sor'. 

le-thar'gic,  not  letli'ar-. 

Le'the,  Le-the'aii. 

lettuce — ^iSt'tis. 

I6v-ee',  a  gathering  of  guests. 

levee — ^l6v'e,  a  hanh  along  a  river. 

I6v'el,  not  iSv'l. 

le'ver,  not  lev'er. 

Lever,  Charles — le'ver,  not  lev'er. 

lev'er-age,  not  le'ver-. 

liaison  (Fr.) — le-a'zawng'. 

irbel,  not  li'bl. 

lib'er-tine,  not  -tin. 

.  See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


.100 

licentiate — ^li-sSn'she-at. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  this  word  the  last 
vowel,  which  is  two  removes  from  the  accented 
syllable,  is  left  to  take  care  of  itself.  This,  it 
may  be  seen,  has  been  the  usual  practice  in  the 
cases  of  all  vowels  similarly  situated,  especially 
when  they  were  in  the  penult.  This  vowel  is 
marked  long  (a)  by  Smart,  and  obscure  (a)  by 
Worcester.  Smart  says,  then,  that  this  a  is  like 
a  in  fate  ;  Worcester,  that  it  is  like  a  in  sedative, 
Now,  it  is  neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  but 
something  between  the  two,  which  something  it 
is  safe  to  leave  every  one  to  find  out  for  himself; 
and  whether  the  speaker  brings  out  the  quality 
of  the  vowel  a  little  more  or  a  little  less  than  he 
perhaps  should,  may  be  set  down  as  one  of  the 
least  of  sins  against  good  usage. 

liclien — Irken,  or  licli'eii. 

The  few  English  orthoepists  who  have  given 
the  pronunciation  of  this  word  are  divided  in 
relation  to  it ;  but  as  a  Greek  and  Latin  word,  it 
is  pronounced  ll'ke?i;  the  French  keep  the  eh 
hard,  pronouncing  it  le'ken ;  and  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  ll'ken  appears  to  be  supported  by  the  best 
usage  among  American  botanists. —  Worcester, 

lic'or-ice,  not  -er-ish. 
lien — ^le^en,  or  li'en. 

In  the  early  editions  of  Webster's  dictionary 
this  word  was  marked  len. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


101 

lieutenant — ^lu-t6n'ant,  l6f-,  or  l6v-. 

It  is  not  easy  to  see  why  our  orthoepists 
should  differ  so  widely  in  their  modes  of  pro- 
nouncing the  first  syllable  of  this  word,  since 
none  of  them  appear  to  have  made  any  effort  to 
imitate  its  pronunciation  in  French.  Preference 
is  given  here  to  the  first  marking — which  is 
Webster's — because  it  comes  nearest  to  what  the 
orthography  demands. 

lilac,  not  li'l6k,  nor  lal6k. 

lin'sey-woorsey,  not  -ze. 

listen — ^lis'n. 

Ii-tli6g'ra-plier,  li-tli6g'ra-pliy. 

litigious — li-tij'iis. 

livelong — livl6ng,  not  livlSng. 

liv'er-y,  not  liv'-. 

loath,  adj, — ^loth,  not  loth,  nor  l6th. 

loathe,  verh — loth. 

loathsome — loth'sum. 

lo-ca'tion,  not  lo-. 

logomachy — lo-g6m^a-ke. 

I6ng'-lived,  not  -llvd.' 

loth,  not  l6th. 

louis  d'or  (Fr.) — lo'e  d6r,  not  dor. 

low,  verb — ^lo. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p,  S. 


102 

lu'cid,  not  lu'-. 

Iti'ci-fer,  not  lu'-. 

lu'cre,  not  lu'-. 

Lii'cy,  not  lu'-. 

lu'di-crotis,  not  lu'-. 

luke'warm,  not  Ink''-. 

lute,  not  lut. 

Lu'ther-an,  not  lu'-. 

luxuriance — ^Itlgz-yu'ri-ans.     See  ex. 

luxuriant — ^Itigz-yu'ri-ant. 

luxurious — Itigz-yu'ri-tts. 

luxury — luk'sliu-re. 

ly-ce'um,  not  li'ce-tim. 

Lyonnaise  (Fr.) — le'tin'naz'. 


M. 

This  letter  has  always  one  sound,  except  in  ac- 
compt,  accomptant,  and  comptroller,  pronounced 
and  usually  written  account,  accountant,  and  con- 
troller. It  is  silent  when  it  precedes  n  in  the  same 
syllable,  as  in  mnemonics, 

Machiavelian — m^k-e-a-vSryan. 
m^c'ro-cftsm,  or  ma'cro-c6§m. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6, 


103 


mM'am. 


Not  unfrequently  good  taste  is  offended  by 
the  retention  of  the  French  word  madame  in 
translations.  This  is  especially  true  of  transla- 
tions for  the  stage.  Few  things  are  more  un- 
pleasant to  a  cultured  ear  than  the  unnecessary 
mixing  of  languages. 

madame  (Fr.) — ^ma'dS,m\ 
Madeira — ma-de'ra,  or  -da'-, 
mademoiselle  (Fr.)— mMm'wa'zel',  not 

m^d-tim-wa-zel,  nor  m^m-zel',  whicli 

is  exceedingly  vulgar. 

In  this  word  an  Englishman  encounters  his 
greatest  difficulty  in  the  proper  utterance  of  the 
last  syllable,  to  which  the  Frenchman  gives  a 
very  clear  dental  utterance,  while  the  Englishman 
is  wont  to  let  the  sound  come  from  his  throat. 

ma  foi  (Fr.) — ma  fwa. 

ma^gi,  not  mSg'i. 

magnesia — mag-ne'zhe-a. 

mag-nif  i-cent,  not  -stint.     See  ailment. 

mag-no'li-a,  not  -norya. 

main'ten-ance,  not  man-tan'ans. 

mal  k  propos  (Fr.) — mal  a  pro'po'. 

ma-la'ri-a,  not  ma-la'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


104 

mall,  a  public  walk — ^m^l. 
m^m'mil-la-ry,  not  mam-mira-re. 
m^n-da-rm',  not  m^n'da-rin. 
ma'nes,  not  naanz. 
mango — m^ng'go. 
ma-ni'a-cal. 

manoeuvre — ma-nuVer,  not  ma-nu'-. 
m^n^or,  not  ma'nor. 
m^n'or-house,  not  ma'nor-. 
mto's^rd'  roof, 
mansuetude — m^-n'swe-tud. 
mantua-maker — ^m^n'tu-mak'er. 
ma-r^§'mus,  not  -r^s'-. 
marchande     de     modes     (Fr.) — mar'- 
shangd'  de  mod'. 

The  letter  o  in  French  generally  has  the  sound 
of  0  in  souy  woriy  done,  or  of  o  in  or,  nor,  for,  ex- 
cept when  under  the  circumflex  accent  {6),  Hence 
we  should  say,  for  example,  Mf  a  Id  mud,  not  mod. 

marchioness — mar'shun-gs. 
m^r'i-gold,  not  ma're-. 
m^r'i-tal,  7iot  mar'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


105 

m^ri-time. 

mar'ket,  not  -kit. 

marVel,  not  marVl. 

m^s'cu-line,  not  -lin. 

mask,  not  m^sk. 

massacre — md,s'sa-ker. 

mas'ter,  not  mfe'-. 

m^t'jn,  not  ma'tin. 

ma'trix,  not  m^t'-. 

ma'tron,  not  m^t'-. 

ma,t'roii-al,  or  ma'tron-al. 

ma'tron-ly,  not  m^t^-. 

m^t'tress,  not  mS^t-tr^ss'. 

mau-so-le'um. 

mauvais  gout  (Fr.) — ^moVa^  gob. 

mauvaise  honte  (Fr.) — moVa'  zaungt, 

may'or-al-ty. 

mayonnaise  (Fr.) — ma'yon'az'. 

measure — mezk'ur,  not  mazh'-. 

mechanist — ^mek'an-ist. 

me-di§'i-nal. 

medicine — m6d'e-sin,  not  med'sn. 

mediocre — ^me  'de-o-ker. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


106 

meerscliaTiin  (Ger.) — mar'stowm. 

The  au  has  the  sound  of  ow  in  owl^  and  there 
is  little  if  any  difference  in  the  quantity  of  the 
syllables,  as  is  generally  the  case  with  compound 
words. 

Meissonier — ma'son'ya'. 
meliorate — ^meryor-at. 
mgro-drSm-a,  or  -dra-ma. 

The  second  marking  is  supported  by  abundant 
authority,  but  few,  if  any,  seem  to  heed  it. 

Mel-p5ni'e-ne. 

memoir — memVor,  or  me'mwor. 
mem'o-ry,  not  mem'ry. 
menagerie  (Fr.) — ma'nazh'e-re'. 
menagery — ^me-n^zli'e-re. 
m6n-in-gi'tiSj  not  me-nin'gi-tis. 
mer'can-tile,  not  -til,  nor  -tel. 

The  second,  however,  is  sanctioned  by  Smart. 
See  advertisement, 

mesmerism — mes'mer-izm,  or  m6z'-. 

The  dictionaries  tell  us  to  sound  the  first  s  of 
this  word  and  of  its  derivatives  like  z,  which  is 
contrary  to  the  prevailing  custom,  etymologically 
incorrect,  and  not  euphonious. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


107 


messieurs — masyur'. 

The  English  orthoepists  have  marked  this 
word  in  no  less  than  ten  different  ways,  agreeing 
in  only  one  thing — that  the  final  s  should  be 
sounded.  Now,  this  s  is  absolutely  silent ;  so  is 
one  of  the  other  eses.  The  first  syllable  is  per- 
fectly represented  by  mas,  and  the  second  syl- 
lable is  ver^  nearly/  represented  by  y^r.  If,  in 
pronouncing  this  syllable,  the  speaker  imagines 
a  long  e  between  the  y  and  the  it,  and  then,  hav- 
ing prepared  the  organs  of  speech  to  sound  it, 
goes  directly  to  the  it,  he  will  perhaps  get  the 
sound  of  the  syllable  somewhat  more  perfectly. 
The  sound  of  the  r  is  very  short  and  obscure. 
See  m^onsieur, 

met-a-mor'pliose,  not  -plioze. 

me-te-5r'o-lite. 

met-ro-pSri-tan. 

mi4§'ma. 

mrcro-scope,  not  mic'ro-. 

ini-cro-sc5p'ic,  not  -scoplc. 

mid'wife-ry,  or  midVife-ry. 

Milan. 

We  Anglicize  the  orthography  of  this  proper 
name  :  why  should  we  not  do  likewise  with  the 
orthoepy?  Bryce,  Earnshaw,  and  Thomas  say 
Mil! an,  while  Wright  says  Mi-ldn', 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


108 

milch,  adj,^  not  milks. 

millionaire — ^mil-yiin4r'. 

min-er-^ro-gy,  not  -6ro-gy. 

Millet,  E.— mella^ 

miniature  — min'i-at-y  ur. 

Min'o-taur. 

mi'niis,  not  min^us. 

mi-nute',  or  mi-nute',  adj. 

minute,  noun — ^minlt. 

nur'a-cle,  not  m6r'-. 

mi-ra,c'u-lotis,  not  mi% 

mirage  (Fr.) — ^me'r^zli'. 

mis'an-tlirope,  not  miz'-. 

mischievous — mis'che-vtis,  not  mis-che'-. 

mis'chiev-ous-n6ss. 

mis-c6n'strue,  not  mis-con-strue'. 

"Do  not,  great  sir,  misconstrue  his  intent." 

— Dryden, 

misfortune — ^mis-fort'yun. 
misogyny — me-s6j'e-ne. 
mistletoe — miz'zl-to. 
mit'ten,  not  mit'n. 
mnemonics — ^ne-mSn'iks. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


109 

mobile — mo-ber,  or  mo'bil. 

The  first  is  the  pronunciation  of  Walker  and 
Worcester,  and  is  always  heard  in  the  name 
Mobile  ;  the  second,  that  of  Webster.  Smart 
says  m6h'iL 

mSck,  not  mauk.     See  accost. 

m5d'el,  not  m6d'l. 

mSd'est,  not  -ist,  nor  -ust. 

moisten — mois'n,  not  -ten. 

mo-lec'u-lar. 

mSre-cule. 

Moliere — ^moryar'. 

M6n'a-co,  not  Mo-na'co. 

mSn'ad,  or  mo'nad ;  mo-nMic, 

m6n'as-t6r-y,  not  -te-ry. 

mongrel — ^milng'grel. 

m6n-o-c5t-y-le'don. 

mo-n6g'a-my. 

m6n'o-gr^m,  not  mo'no-. 

mftn'o-gr^pli,  not  mo'no-. 

m6n'o-l6gue,  not  mo'no-log. 

m5n-o-ma'ni-a. 

m6n-o-ma'ni-^c. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


110 

in6n-o-syl-Mb'ic. 

monsieur  (Fr.) — mils'yur^ 

This  marking  perfectly  represents  the  pro- 
nunciation of  the  first  syllable  of  this  word,  the 
o  being  like  the  o  in  son.  The  second  syllable  is 
like  the  second  syllable  of  the  plural.  The  r  in 
both  cases  is  really  a  silent  letter,  but  with  its 
aid  the  pronunciation  of  the  syllable  is  better 
represented  to  the  English  eye  than  it  could  be 
without  it.  It  is  marked  obscure  in  order  that  it 
may  be  merely  hit  and  not  dwelt  upon.  Care 
should  be  taken  to  give  the  syllables  the  same 
quantity.     See  messieurs, 

.    morale  (Fr.) — mo^r^l'. 

morceau ;  pl.j  morceaux  (Fr.) — ^mor'so'. 

m6r'i-btind,  not  mo'ri-. 

Morpheus — mor'fus,  or  mor'f e-us. 

morphine — mor'fin,  not  mor-fen'. 

mor'sel,  not  mor'sl. 

mor^tal,  not  mor'tl. 

Mosenthal,  J. — mo'zen-tal. 

M6§aem,  not  M6s'-. 

mo'tion-less,  not  -Itis.     See  ailment. 

mountain — ^moun'tin,  not  -ting,  no7'  -tn. 

mountainous — moun'tin-ils. 

mtil-ti-pli-ca'tion,  not  -pi-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


Ill 

miirti-tude,  not  -tud.     See  adduce, 
mu-nig'i-pal,  not  mu-ni-cip'al. 
mur'der-er,  not  mur'drer. 
mtis-co-va'do. 
mu-§e'iim,  not  mu'§e-um. 
mush'rdbm,  not  -robn. 
mlls-tdglie',  or  -tash'. 
my — mi,  or  mi,  never  me. 

When,  from  being  used  in  contradistinction 
to  another  personal  pronoun,  my  is  emphatic,  the 
2/  has  its  full,  open,  long-^  sound.  Thus  we  would 
say,  "  Is  this  my  ink  or  yours  f  "  But  when  there 
is  no  such  emphasis — and  there  is  hut  rarely — the 
y  has  the  sound  of  obscure  ^,  as  in  tni-nute'  and 
m^iraculouSy  which  is  very  nearly  the  sound  of  y 
in  many,  only,  etc.  "  My  {mi]  ink  is  as  bad  as 
my  {mi]  pen,'''*  These  rules,  however,  are  and 
should  be  departed  from  in  certain  cases  where 
we  would  express  respect  or  emotion.  "  My  \m%\ 
brother  shall  know  of  this."  "  Sir,  this  lady  is 
my  \mi\  wife."  "Ay,  madam,  she  was  my  \mi\ 
mother  !  "  Say  m^i  in  these  sentences,  and  they 
become  commonplace  ;  you  take  all  the  soul  out 
of  them. 

myself — mi-self. 

myrmidon — mur'me-dSn,  not  mir'-. 

mythology — ^me-tliSro-je,  not  mi-tli5l'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


112 


N. 

This  letter  has  two  sounds  :  one  simple,  as  in 
man^  ten,  not ;  the  other  compound,  as  in  thank, 
banquet,  anxious,  pronounced  thangk,  hang'quet, 
angk'shus.  The  sound  of  ng  is  really  a  distinct 
and  simple  alphabetical  element,  unlike  that  of 
either  constituent  of  the  digraph.  When  final 
after  I  or  m,  n  is  silent,  as  in  kiln,  condemn, 
solemn,  hymn,  limn,  autumn,  etc. 

naiad — na'yad. 

naive  (Fr.) — na'ev'. 

naivete  (Fr.) — ^na'ev'ta'. 

naively — na-ev'le. 

nape,  not  n^p. 

n^s'cent,  not  na'sent. 

national — n^sh'un-al,  not  na'shun-al. 

The  first  marking  is  that  of  all  the  orthoepists 
except  Webster,  and  his  mode  of  pronouncing 
the  word  is  not  even  permitted  in  the  new  edi- 
tions of  his  dictionary. 

nationality — n^sh-un-^re-te. 

nature — ^nat'yur. 

nausea — ^naw'she-a,  not  naw'se-a. 

nauseous — ^naw'shus,  not  naw'se-tis. 

na-vic'u-lar. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


113 

near'est,  not  -ist. 

iiec-ro-l6gic. 

ne-crSro-gy. 

nSc^tar-ine,  not  -ine,  nor  -en. 

ne'er — ^n^r,  not  ner. 

neglige  (Fr.) — na'gle'zlia^ 

neither — ^ne'ther,  or  ni'ther. 

There  is  very  little  dictionary  authority  for 
saying  m'thery  but  of  late  years  this  mode  of  pro- 
nouncing the  word  seems  to  be  preferred  by  some 
of  oijr  most  careful  speakers.     See  either, 

Nem'e-sis. 

nephew — nev'yu,  or  nef  yu. 

"  This  word  is  uniformly  pronounced  nev'vu 
by  the  English  orthoepists  ;  but  in  the  United 
States  it  is  often  pronounced  nef'fu.  Smart  re- 
marks that  'p  with  A,  in  almost  all  cases,  is  pro- 
nounced yi  In  Stephen,  this  sound  is  vocalized, 
that  is,  converted  into  v  ;  and  likewise  in  nephew, 
almost  the  only  word  in  which' the  combination 
occurs  that  is  not  immediately  referable  to  a 
Greek  origin.' " —  Worcester. 

The  latest  editions  of  Webster  give  nef'yu, 
remarking  that  the  English  dictionaries  uniformly 
mark  it  nev'yu.  The  latter,  in  our  estimation,  is 
the  most  euphonious  pronunciation  of  the  word. 

n6p'o-ti§m. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


114 

nestle — ngs'l. 

ngth'er-most. 

neii-r^l'gi-a. 

neu'ter,  neu'tral,  not  nu'-. 

new — nu,  not  nu. 

New  Orleans — nu  or-lenz\ 

This,  in  tlie  opinion  of  the  writer,  is  the  better 
mode  of  pronouncing  the  name  of  the  American 
city.  Besides  harmonizing  with  the  spirit  of  the 
English  language,  it  is  easier  of  utterance  and 
more  euphonious  than  dr'le-anZy  which  is  a  mon- 
grel pronunciation  at  the  best. 

news — niiz,  not  nuz. 

newspaper — niiz'pa-per,  not  nnz'-. 

niaiserie  (Fr.) — ne-a'ze-re\ 

nf  ce-ty,  not  nis'te, 

niclie,  not  nish. 

nick'el,  not  nickl. 

nic'o-tine,  not  -ten. 

noblesse  oblige  (Fr.) — no'blSs'  6'blezli'. 

nSm'ad,  not  no'mM. 

no-mMic. 

no^men-clat-ure,  or  no-men-clat'ure. 

n6nil-na-tive,  not  n5m^na-tive. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6, 


115 

none — ^ntin,  not  non. 

nook,  or  nook. 

n5t^a-ble,  industrious^  careful^  hustling. 

not'a-ble,  vemarTcahle^  memorahle. 

nothing — nuth'ing,  not  nStli^-. 

Notre  Dame  (Fr.) — no'tre  d^m. 

n6v^el,  not  n5vl. 

n6v'el-ty,  not  n5vl-ty. 

novitiate — no-vish'e-at. 

noxious — n5k^s]ius. 

nu'di-ty,  not  nu'-. 

nuisance — nu'sans.     See  adduce. 

nuncio — ntin'slie-6. 

nuptial — ^niip'slial,  not  -chal. 

nu'tri-mSnt,  not  nu'tri-miint. 


O. 

This  vowel  has  seven  sounds,  as  in  note,  not, 
son,  move,  wolf,  nor,  and  major, 

6'a-sis ;  pl.^  6'a-se§. 
Webster  permits  o-d'sis. 

oath — oth ;  pl.j  oath§. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


116 

6b'du-rate,  or  ob-dii'rate. 

obeisance — o-ba'sg,nce,  or  o-be'-. 

The  weight  of  authority  is  in  favor  of  the 
first  marking  ;  usage — in  this  country  at  least — 
would  seem  to  favor  the  second.  Walker  em- 
phatically preferred  the  first,  for  the  reason  that 
ei  when  under  the  accent  is  most  frequently  pro- 
nounced like  long  a,  and  the  corresponding  ey 
always,  except  in  key, 

6b'e-lisk,  not  6'be-. 

o-bese',  not  -bez'. 

o'bit,  or  6b'it. 

6bli-ga-to-ry,  not  ob-lig'a-to-ry. 

oblige — o-blij'. 

"When  Lord  Chesterfield  wrote  his  Letters 
to  his  son,  the  word  oblige  was,  by  many  polite 
speakers,  pronounced  as  if  written  ohleege — as  if 
to  give  a  hint  of  their  knowledge  of  the  French 
language;  nay.  Pope  has  rhymed  it  to  this  sound: 
*  Dreading  even  fools,  by  flatterers  besieged, 
And  so  obliging  that  be  ne'er  obliged.'' 

But  it  was  so  far  from  having  generally  obtained, 
that  Lord  Chesterfield  strictly  enjoins  his  son  to 
avoid  this  pronunciation  as  affected.  In  a  few 
years,  however,  it  became  so  general  that  none 
but  the  lowest  vulgar  ever  pronounced  it  in  the 
English  manner  ;  but  upon  the  publication  of 
this  nobleman's  Letters,  which  was  about  twenty 
years  after  he  wrote  them,  his  authority  had  so 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


117 

Tnuch  influence  with  the  polite  world  as  to  bid 
fair  for  restoring  the  i  in  this  word  to  its  original 
rights  ;  and  we  not  unfrequently  hear  it  now 
pronounced  with  the  broad  English  i  in  those 
circles  where,  a  few  years  ago,  it  would  have 
been  an  infallible  mark  of  vulgarity." —  Walker. 
"  Smart  says  :  ^  The  word  oblige,  which  was 
formerly  classed  with  marine,  etc.,  is  now  pro- 
nounced regularly.'  John  Kemble  is  said  to 
have  corrected  the  Prince  of  Wales  (George  IV) 
for  adhering  to  the  former  pronunciation,  by 
saying,  *  It  will  become  your  royal  mouth  better 
to  say  oblige,'* " —  Worcester, 

ob-lique',  (?r  ob-lique'. 
obnoxious — ob-nOk'shus. 
ob-sc6ii'i-ty,  not  ob-sce'ni-ty. 
6b'se-quie§,  not  ob-se'quie§. 
6b'so-lete,  not  6b-so-lete'. 
ob-trude',  not  -trude'.     See  accrue, 
ob-tuse',  not  -tuse'. 
ob-tru'sive,  not  -ziv. 
6bVerse,  noun. 
ob-verse',  adj, 
oc-ca'§ion,  7iot  o-ca'§Ion. 
oc-ctilt',  not  Sc'cult. 
oceanic — 6-she-^n'ic. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


118 

oc-taVo,  or  oc-taVo. 

There  is  no  dictionary  authority  for  the  sec- 
ond marking,  and  yet  that  is  the  pronunciation 
that  seems  to  be  preferred  by  our  most  careful 
speakers — for  the  reason,  doubtless,  that  they 
think  it  the  more  euphonious. 

oc-t6g'e-na-ry. 

6c'tu-ple,  not  oc-tu'ple. 

o-de'on. 

o'di-oiis. 

The  best  usage  now  makes  this  a  word  of 
three  syllables. 

6f fice,  not  au'ftis. 

official — of-fisli'al,  not  6-fisli'al. 

officious — of-fish^us,  not  o-fish'us. 

Often — 6f' n,  not  6f' ten. 

6'gle,  not  ftg'le. 

olden — old'n,  not  old'en. 

6-le-o-mar'ga-rine,  not  -ja-. 

The  letter  g  is  always  hard  before  a,  except 
in  gaol^  now  disused  in  this  country. 

oJib'a-num. 

ombre  (Fr.) — awng'br,  not  om'br. 

6m'i-nous,  not  o'mj-nous. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


119 

omniscience — om-nisli'ens. 

6n'er-oiis,  not  o'ner-ous. 

only,  not  iin'ly. 

o'nyx,  not  Sn'yx. 

o'pal,  not  o'p^l. 

ophtlialmy — 6f  thal-my,  or  6p'tlial-my, 

not  oph-th^rmy. 

opinion — o-pin'yun. 

Some  of  the  orthoepists  caution  us  not  to  let 
unaccented  o  in  such  words  as  opinion,  observe, 
oppose,  command,  conceal,  condition,  contain, 
content, possess, police,  etc.,  degenerate  into  short 
or  obscure  u.  While  it  is  well  to  heed  their  ad- 
vice, it  is  also  well  to  remember  that  to  make 
these  o's  too  long  is,  perhaps,  more  objectionable 
than  to  make  them  too  short.  How  unpleasant, 
for  example,  to  hear  pedantic  ignorance  say  po- 
lice and  pO'Sessf  An  endeavor  to  avoid  sound- 
ing the  o  like  short  or  obscure  u  should  be  made 
with  nice  discrimination,  as  by  making  it  too 
long  one's  utterance  becomes  pedantic,  which  of 
all  elocutionary  faults  is  the  worst. 

6p-o-derdoc,  or  o-po-derdoc,  not  -dil'- 

op-po'nent,  not  6p'po-nent. 

The  latter,  though  often  heard  from  tolerably 
correct  speakers,  is  unauthorized. 

6p-por-tune',  7iot  5p'por-tune. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


120 

orange — 6r'6nj,  not  Srlnj. 

o-r^ng'-ou-ta,ng'. 

or'^hes-tra,  or  or-€hes'tra. 

Among  the  orthoepists  who  accent  the  second 
syllable  of  this  word  are  Walker  and  Smart ; 
but  that  pronunciation  is  rarely  used  by  careful 
speakers. 

6r'€lies-tral,  or  or-€h6s'tral. 

6r'de-al,  not  or-de'al. 

The  latter  is  not  even  permitted  by  any  of 
the  orthoepists. 

or'di-na-ry,  not  6rd'na-ry. 

orgies — or'jiz,  not  -jez. 

or'i-fice,  not  o'ri-. 

oriflamme — orl-fl^m,  not  o'ri-. 

o-rig'i-nal,  not  -o-nal. 

Orion — o-ri'un. 

orison — 5r '  e-zun. 

or'nate,  not  or-nate'. 

o'ro-ttind,  not  6r'o-. 

The  ultimate  accentuation,  d-ro-tiXrid' ,  is  be- 
coming antiquated. 

Orphean — or-fe'an,  or  or'fe-an. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


121 

Orpheus — or'fus,  or  or'fe-us. 

The  first  is  the  classic,  the  second  the  popular 
pronunciation. 

or^tho-e-pist,  or  or-tho'e-pist. 

6r'tlio-e-py,  or  or-tho'e-py. 

One  may  say  or-tho'e-py  on  the  authority  of 
Wright,  Clarke,  and  Knowles,  and  of  Fulton  and 
Knight ;  and  this  is  the  pronunciation  the  writer 
would  recommend,  on  account  of  its  being  so 
much  the  easier  of  utterance,  if  he  had  the  cour- 
age to  do  so  in  the  face  of  such  weighty  authori- 
ties as  Walker,  Worcester,  Webster,  and  Smart. 

ostler — Ss'ler. 

otium — 6'she-tim. 

outre  (Fr.)— o'tra'. 

6-ver-se'er,  or  -seer'. 

oVert,  not  o-vert\ 

5xlde. 

6Y?r,  not  oi'er. 


P. 

This  letter  has  but  one  sound.  It  is  silent 
when  initial  before  n,  s,  or  t,  as  in  pneumatics, 
psalm,  ptarmigan.  It  is  also  silent  or  very  in- 
distinct when  between  m  and  t  in  the  same  syl- 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


122 

lable,  as  in  tempt,  exempt,  etc.;  but  when  pre- 
ceded by  m  in  the  same  syllable  and  followed  by 
if  or  ^  in  the  next  syllable,  it  is  more  properly 
sounded,  as  in  temptation,  exemption,  sumptuous, 
humpMn,  pumpkin,  etc.  In  raspberry,  receipt, 
semptress,  and  corps  it  is  also  mute. 

pa-cif-i-ca'tion,  (9r  p^g-i-fi-ca'tion. 

pa-cif  i-ca-tor,  or  p^g-i-fl'^^^'tpr. 

The  first  marking  is  Webster's  and  Smart's  ; 
the  second,  Walker'^  and  Worcester's. 

pageant — ^p^j'ent. 
Pa'jent  is  growing  obsolete. 

pageantry — p^J  'ent-re. 
p^race,  not  p^l'as. 
The  latter  smacks  of  pedantry. 

pa-laVer,  not  pa-Mv'er. 

P^l'es-tine,  not  -ten. 

paVfrey,  or  p^^rfrey  (Smart). 

palm — ^pam,  not  p^m. 

panegyric — p^n-e-Jir'ik. 

Smart,  Walker,  Sheridan,  and  others  pro- 
nounce this  word  pdn-e-jer'ik,  Worcester  re- 
marks :  "  Though  Smart  pronounces  squirrel  and 
panegyric,  squer'rel  2indipdn-e-jer'ik,  yet  he  says, 
'  The  irregular  sound  of  i  and  y  in  squirrel  and 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  d-  6. 


123 

panegyric  we  may  hope  in  time  to  hear  re- 
claimed ;  a  correspondent  reformation  having 
taken  place  in  spirit  and  miracle,  which  were 
once  pronounced  sper'it  and  iner'a-cle!' " 

p^n'el,  not  p^nl. 

panorama — pan-o-ra'ma,  or  -ra'ma. 

P^n-tlie'on,  or  P^n'the-on. 

"  Hail,  learning's  Pantheon  !  Hail,  the  sacred  ark 
Where  all  the  world  of  science  does  embark." 

—  Cowley, 
"  Mark  how  the  dread  Pantheon  stands. 
Amid  the  toys  of  modern  hands, 
How  simply,  how  severely  great  !  " 

— Akenside, 

p^n'to-mime,  not  -mine, 
papier  mache  (Fr.) — pap'ya'  ma'sha'. 
pa-r^b'o-la,  not  p^r-a-bo'la. 
par'cel,  not  -siiL 
parenchyma — pa-ren'ke-ma. 
p^r-e-g6r'ic,  not  -gaur'ic, 
par'ent. 
pAr'ent-age. 
Smart  ^^j^  pa' rent-age. 

par-heli-on. 
Pa'ri-ah,  not  pa'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


124 

pa-ri'e-tal. 

Parisian — ^pa-iizli'an,  iwt  pa-riz'e-an. 

Par-me-§dn'. 

p^r'ol  (legal  word). 

pa-role'  (military  word). 

partiality — ^par-slie4re-ty,  not  par-sli^r-. 

par'ti-ci-ple,  not  part'si-pl. 

part'ner,  not  pard'-. 

par'tridge,  not  pS^t'-. 

pdt'ent,  or  pa'-. 

p^t-en-tee',  or  pa-ten-. 

According  to  nearly  all  the  authorities,  the  a 
of  these  two  words  should  have  its  short  sound. 

path,  not  p^th. 

pa'tli5s,  not  p^th'os. 

p^t'ri-mo-ny,  not  pa'tri-. 

pa'tri-ot,  not  p^t'ri-. 

pa'tri-ot-i§m. 

pa'tron,  not  p^t'-. 

p^t'ron-age. 

p^t'ron-al. 

Smart  says  pa'tron-al^  but  the  balance  of 
authority  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  making  the  a 
short. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


125 

pa'tron-ess,  not  pa^t'ron-. 
p^t'ron-ize. 
peculiar — pe-kuryar. 
Smart  says  pe-Jcu'le-ar, 

peculiarity — pe-kul-y^r'i-ty. 

There  is  abundant  authority  for  saying  joe-M^ 
ye-dr'e-ty, 

pecuniary — pe-kun'ya-re. 

pedagogue — ped'a-g6g,  not  -gog. 

pe'dal,  adj.  /  pfid'al,  noun. 

p6d'es-tal,  not  pe-d6s'-. 

P6g'a-siis,  not  Pe-g^s'us. 

pel-lu'cid,  not  -lu'-. 

pe-iia'te§  (Lat.). 

pen'cil,  not  pen'sl. 

Pe-nero-pe. 

penitentiary — pen-i-t6n'slia-ry. 

pe'nult,  or  pe-ntilt'. 

pe-nu'ri-olis,  not  -nu'-.     See  adduce. 

pe'o-ny,  not  pi'ny. 

per'emp-to-ry. 

Walker,  Perry,  and  Jameson  permitted  pe- 
remfto-ry, 

.  See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


126 

per'fect,  adj.     See  advertisement, 
per^fect,  or  per-fect',  verb. 

The  latter  pronunciation  is  probably  the  more 
common,  being  in  accordance  with  the  general 
rule  of  change  of  accent  in  a  word  used  both  as  a 
noun  or  adjective  and  a  verb,  as  con' duct,  con- 
duct'; but  the  weight  of  authority  is  in  favor  of 
the  former. 

per^fume,  or  per-fume',  noun. 

The  ultimate  accentuation  of  this  noun,  al- 
though there  is  good  authority  for  it,  is  little 
used  in  this  country  by  careful  speakers. 

per-fume',  verh. 
peril,  not  -lil. 
pe-ri-6dlc,  not  per-i-. 
per'mit,  or  per-mit',  noun. 
Persia — per'she-a,  not  -zhe-. 
Persian — ^per'shan,  not  -zhan. 
per-sist',  not  -zist'. 
per-spi-ra'tion,  not  pr6s-pi-. 
per-sua'sive,  Twt  -ziy. 
pe-rii§e'.     See  accrue, 
pestle — pes'l. 
Petruchio — ^pe-tru'ke-6. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


127 

pet'al,  or  pe'tal. 

phaeton — fa'e-ton,  not  fa'ton,»726>7'  fe'ton. 

ph^ranx,  or  pha'Mnx. 

"The  pronunciation  phdVanx  is  the  more 
general ;  hut  pha'lanx  is  the  more  analogical." 
—  W^alker, 

Is  Walker  correct  in  saying  that  it  is  more 
analogical  to  make  the  a  long  ?  Pha^  followed 
hy  a  consonant,  and  under  an  accent — primary  or 
secondary — is  almost  always,  if  not  always,  short. 
This  marking  is  supported  by  Smart  and  by 
Wright,  and  by  well-nigh  universal  usage. 

pharmaceutic — far-ma-su'tik,  not  -ku'-. 

pharmacopoeia — f  ar-ma-ko-pe  'y  a. 

phil-an-thr6p'ic,  not  phi-Ian-. 

phil-o-l5g'ic. 

phil-o-§5ph'ic,  or  -s6ph'-. 

ph6n^ics,  not  pho'nics. 

ph6s'pho-rus. 

phren-o-l5g'ic. 

phy§-i-6g'no-my,  not  -6n'o-my. 

"There  is  a  prevailing  mispronunciation  of 
this  word,  by  leaving  out  the  g^  as  if  the  word 
were  French.  If  this  arises  from  ignorance  of 
the  common  rules  of  spelling,  it  may  be  observed 
that  g  is  always  pronounced  before  n  when  it  is 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


128 

not  in  the  same  syllable  ;  as,  sig-nify,  indig-nity, 
etc. ;  but  if  affectation  be  the  cause  of  this  error, 
Dr.  Young's  *Love  of  Fame'  will  be  the  best 
cure  for  it." —  Walker, 

pianoforte  (It.) — pe-a'no-for'ta. 

pi-a'nist. 

picture — pikt'yur. 

piebald — pi'bald. 

pied,  adj. — ^pid. 

"  Meadows  trim  with  daisies  pied, 
Shallow  brooks,  and  rivers  wide." 

— Milton. 
pi^et-i§rQ. 

pigeon — pidj'on,  not  -in. 

pin'cers,  not  pin'clierz. 

pinchbeck,  not  -b^ck. 

pi'o-ny,  or  pe'o-ny,  not  pi'ne. 

piquant — ^pik'ant. 

pi§'mire,  or  pis^mire. 

pla^ca-ble,  not  pMk'a-ble. 

pla'card. 

The  dictionaries  tell  us  to  pronounce  this 
word,  both  the  noun  and  the  verb,  pla-hdrd'. 
Why  ?  Because  it  comes  to  us  from  the  French  ? 
A  very  poor  reason,  since  in  French  it  is  pro- 
nounced ijilaJhar'^  which  is  as  unlike  plq-hdrd'  as 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


129 

it  is  unlike  the  pronunciation  that  harmonizes 
with  the  language  into  which  it  is  adopted, 
namely,  pld'hdrd.  In  language,  as  in  everything 
else,  that  which  is  neither  "  fish,  flesh,  nor  fowl " 
is  distasteful.  Mongrel  pronunciations  are  as 
unpleasant  to  the  ear  as  orthographical  mon- 
strosities are  to  the  eye. 

plagiary — pla'je-re,  or  pla'Je-a-re. 

That  pronunciation  which  makes  the  smaller 
number  of  syllables  of  such  words  as  plagiary, 
genial,  cordial,  bestial,  ameliorate,  etc.,  is  the 
easier  of  utterance,  and  for  that  reason  is  gen- 
erally— and  the  writer  thinks  justly — considered 
the  more  desirable. 

plait — plat,  not  plet. 

plateau  (Fr.) — ^pla'to'. 

pMtl-na,  or  pla-ti'iia. 

pMt'i-ntim,  or  pla-ti'num. 

plebeian — ple-be'yan,  not  ple'be-an. 

plebeianism — ^ple-be'yan-izm. 

Pleiades — ^ple'ya-dez. 

Pleiads — ^ple'yadz. 

pl6n'a-ry,  or  ple'na-ry. 

"Some  very  respectable  speakers  make  the 
vowel  e  in  the  first  syllable  of  this  word  long ; 
but  analogy  and  the  best  usage  seem  to  shorten 
the  e,  as  they  do  the  a  in  granary,   Nor  do  I  see 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


130 

any  reason  that  the  e  should  not  be  short  in  this 
word  as  well  as  in  plenitude.^'' —  W^alker. 

We  have  Walker,  Worcester,  and  seven  other 
orthoepists  for  the  first  marking  ;  Smart,  Web- 
ster, and  three  others  for  the  second. 

pleuipotentiaiy — plen-i-po-ten'slii-a-re. 

pleth'o-ra. 

ple-tli6r'ic,  or  pletfo-ric. 

The  early  editions  of  Webster's  dictionary 
said  pletNo-ric,  and  the  later  editions  permit  this 
pronunciation.  All  the  English  orthoepists,  ex- 
cept Ash  and  Crabb,  accent  the  second  syllable. 

plume,  not  plum.     See  adduce. 

po'em,  not  po'm. 

poignant — poignant. 

po-lice',  not  p6-.     See  opinion. 

polonaise  (Fr.) — ^p6ro-naz^,  not  po'-. 

polyglot — pSre-glSt. 

p6l-y-syl-Mb'ic. 

P6l-y-liym'ni-a. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  y,  except  when 
beginning  a  word,  has  the  sound  of  i,  and  that  it 
never  has  its  name-sound  when  forming  a  sylla- 
ble. Here  the  first  y  is  unaccented  and  sounded 
like  obscure  i  or  obscure  e,  which  are  hardly 
distinguishable. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


131 

po-made'. 

Pompeia  (Lat.) — pom-pe'ya. 

Pompeii  (Ital.) — p6m-pa'ye. 

Pompeium  (Lat.) — pom-peYtim. 

por'ce-lain. 

This  is  the  marking  of  Worcester,  Webster, 
and  Reid.  Smart  says  pors'ldn  ;  Knowles,  pars'- 
lin  y  Walker,  por'se-ldn. 

porte-monnaie — p6rt'-m6n-na\ 
por-tent'. 

pO'gf  tion,  not  po-.     See  opinion, 
pos-te'ri-or,  not  pos-,  nor  p6s-. 
pSst'hu-motis. 
Perry  and  Craig  say  posfhu-moHs, 

po'ta-ble. 

po'ten-tate,  not  p6t'-. 

prairie — pra're,  not  p6r-a're. 

preb'end,  not  pre'-. 

pre-ce'dence,  not  prfis'e-. 

pre-ce'dent,  adj. 

"  A  murderer  and  a  villain : 
A  slave,  that's  not  the  twentieth  part  the  tythe 
Of  your  precedent  lord  !  " 

— Samlet. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


132 

pr65^?-d6nt,  noun, 

pre-cise',  not  -cize'. 

pre-cise'ly,  not  pre-cise'-,  nor  -cize'% 

pre-clude^     See  adduce. 

pr6d'a-to-ry. 

pr6d-e-ces'sor,  not  pre'de-. 

pre-di-l6c'tion,  not  pr6d-i-. 

prSf  ace,  noun  and  verh^  not  pre 'face. 

pre'fect. 

prefecture — ^prSf'ek-tur,  or  pre'fek-. 

pr6f 'er-a-ble,  not  pre-fer'-. 

prefigure  — pr  e-fig'yur. 

prgrate,  not  prelate. 

prerMe,  noun, 

Webster  alone  says  pre'lude,  and  the  later 
editions  of  his  dictionary  permit  preVude. 

pre-lude',  verb. 

Smart  says  preVude,  but  he  is  supported  by 
Jameson  only. 

"  So  Love,  preluding,  plays  at  first  with  hearts. 
And  after  wounds  with  deeper-piercing  darts." 

—  Congreve. 

pre-ma-ture',  not  prem'at-yiir. 
premier  (Fr.) — ^prgm'ya'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


133 

pre-p5s'ter-oiis,  not  -triis. 

Pre§-by-te'ri-an,  7i6>^  pr6s-. 

pr6§'by-ter-y,  not  pres-byt'e-ry. 

prfeg-en-ta'tion,  not  pre-. 

pre-sen'ti-ment,  not  -zen'-. 

pre-§ent'ment. 

pr6§'i-dent,  not  -dtint. 

pres'tige. 

prestige  (Fr.) — pras'tezh'. 

pre-§iimpt'u-oti.s,  Hot  -ztimp'sliiis. 

pre-tence',  not  pre'tence. 

pret'er-ite,  or  pre'-. 

pre-text'. 

This  is  the  marking  of  nearly  all  the  orthoe- 
pists. 

"  My  pretext  to  strike  at  him  admits 
A  good  construction." 

— Shakespeare, 

pretty — prit'te,  not  pret'-. 
pre-vent'ive,  not  -v6n'ta-tive. 
pri'ma-ry,  not  -mer-e. 
prin'cess,  not  prin-c6ss^ 
pris'tine,  not  -tin. 
priVa-cy,  not  priv'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p  6. 


134 

priv'i-ly. 

pro'ba-to-ry. 

pr6b'i-ty,  not  pro'-. 

The  erroneous  pronunciation  is  often  used, 
especially  on  the  stage. 

prOg'ess,  not  pr6'% 

proces  verbal  (Fr.) — pro'sa'  ver'b^r. 

prbd'iice,  not  pro'-. 

prftd'uct,  not  pro'-. 

profile — ^pro'fel,  -fil,  or  -fil. 

The  first  pronunciation  is  Worcester's  and 
Smart's  ;  the  second,  Walker's  and  Webster's  ; 
the  third,  Craig's.  Pro-feV  is  also  authorized, 
and  by  some  speakers  may  be  preferred. 

pro-fuse',  not  -fuz'. 

pr6g'ress,  not  pro'-. 

prOj'ect,  noun^  not  pro'-. 

pro-j6ct',  verb. 

pro-jec'tile,  not  -til. 

pro-lix'. 

In  their  earlier  editions  both  Webster  and 
Worcester  pronounced  this  word  pro'lix  ;  which 
accentuation  a  few  other  authorities  also  recog- 
nize. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


135 

prftl'Sgue,  or  pro'-. 

The  first  marking  is  that  of  Worcester,  Smart, 
and  Walker  ;  the  second,  that  of  Webster  and 
one  or  two  others. 

prSm-e-nade',  w  -nade'. 
pro-miirgate,  not  pr6m'ul-gate. 
prSm-ul-ga^tion,  or  pro-mtil-. 
pronunciation — pro-nim-slie-a'sliun,    or 
-ce-a'shun,  hut  not  -ce-a'sliun. 

The  majority  of  the  authorities  are  in  favor 
of  the  sound  of  sh  ;  Webster  was  not,  but  this 
sound  has  been  adopted  by  the  editors  of  the 
later  editions  of  his  dictionary. 

Wheaton  in  his  "  Travels  in  England  "  says  : 
"  I  was  not  a  little  mortified  at  having  my  Yan- 
kee origin  detected  by  my  omitting  to  give  the 
full  sound  of  sh  in  the  ynox^  pronunciation P 

Walker  says  :  "  The  very  same  reasons  that 
oblige  us  to  pronounce  partiality^  propitiation^ 
speciality^  etc.,  as  if  written  parsheality^  propi- 
sheashun,  spesheality,  etc.,  oblige  us  to  pronounce 
pronunciation  as  if  written  pronunsheashunP 

Smart  marks  this  word  pro-niXn-ce-a'shun,  yet 
he  says  in  his  "Principles  ":  "  It  is  regularly  pro- 
nounced pro-niXn-she-a' shun^  and  by  all  speakers 
would  probably  be  so  sounded  if  it  were  related 
to  any  such  verb  as  to  pronunciate,  in  the  same 
way  as  association  and  enunciatio7i  are  related 
to  associate  and  enunciate.     In  the  absence  of 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


136 

any  such  related  verb,  most  speakers  say  pro- 
nijbn'Se-a'shun,  and  so  avoid  the  double  occur- 
rence of  the  sound  of  sh  in  the  same  word." 

"The  time  was  when  the  stage  was  justly 
held  the  model  of  pronunciation  ;  but  that  golden 
age  of  dramatic  literature  and  dramatic  life  has 
long  since  passed  away." —  William  MusselL 

propitiate — pro-pisli'e-at. 

pro-§a'ic. 

pro-sce'ni-tim,  not  -seen'-. 

pr6s'per-otis,  not  prSs'prtis. 

pr6t'a-sis,  not  pro'-. 

protege  (Fr.) — ^pro'ta'zlia'. 

pro  tem'po-re,  not  tem'pore. 

prSt'es-ta'tion,  not  pro'-. 

pro-th6n'o-ta-ry,  not  pro-tho-no'ta-ry. 

pro-trude'.     See  accrue. 

pro-tru'sive,  not  -ziv. 

pro-tu'ber-ant. 

proven — ^probv'n. 

This  word,  incorrectly  used  ior  proved,  is  said 
to  be  a  Scotticism. 

pro-Yo'ca-tive,  or  -v6c'a-tive. 

Smart  is  the  only  orthoepist  of  note  who  gives 
the  second  marking. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


137 

provost,  the  chief  of  any  hody^  as  a  col- 
lege— ^prSv'ust. 

provost,  the  executioner  of  an  army — 

pro-vo\ 

Smart  and  some  others  pronounce  the  word 
in  the  latter  signification  pr6v'ust  also. 

prow — prou  or  pro, 
prowess — ^prou'es. 
Fro'es  was  once  permissible. 

prude,  pru'dence,  prune,  pru'ri-ent.    See 

accrue. 

Prussian — prtisli'an,  or  prob'shan. 

There  is  little  choice  here  in  point  of  good 
usage. 

prussic — ^prtis'ik,  or  prcJb'sik. 

psalmist — sam  'ist. 

There  is  good  authority  for  saying  both  sdV- 
mist  and  saVmist, 

psalmody — s^l'mo-de. 
Webster  said  sdm'o-de, 

psalms — samz,  not  s^mz. 
pseudo — su'do. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


138 

Psyche — si'ke. 

In  Greek  aud  Latin  words  which  begin  with 
uncombinable  consonants,  the  first  letter  is  silent ; 
thus  P  in  Psyche  and  Ptolemy  is  not  sounded. 

Ptolemaic — t6l-e-maik. 

pu'er-ile,  not  -il. 

puissance  (from  the  French). 

All  the  orthoepists,  with  one  exception,  accent 
this  word  on  the  first  syllable.  Why  this  is  done 
it  is  not  easy  to  see,  since  that  accentuation  makes 
the  word  most  difiicult  of  utterance,  and  because 
the  last  syllable,  in  French,  is  made  most  promi- 
nent by  being  drawn  out  in  the  pronunciation 
somewhat  like  au  in  haul  followed  by  nasal  n 
and  the  sound  of  s.  It  seems  to  the  writer  that 
the  word,  in  English,  should  be  pronounced />^^-^s'- 
sans  instead  of  pu'is-sdns, 

ptim'ice,  or  pu'-. 

"  This  word  ought  to  be  pronounced  pewmis. 
In  nothing  is  our  language  more  regular  than  in 
preserving  the  u  open  when  the  accent  is  on  it 
and  followed  by  a  single  consonant." —  Walker, 

We  have  at  least  three  other  words  which 
break  this  regularity — cwn'm,  duc'at^  and  pun'- 
ish,  Pum'ice  is  as  well  established  as  pun'ish. 
We  never  hear  a  mechanic  talk  about  la^pewmis- 
stone, 

ptimp'kin.     See  P. 

8ee  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


139 

piir'port,  noun  and  verh^  not  pur-port'. 

pur-sue',  not  -su^ 

pursuit — ^pur-sut',  not  -sut^ 

pustule — pfist'yul. 

put — ^pdbt,  not  pttt  (very  antiquated). 

pyg-me'an,  or  pyg'me-. 

There  is  very  little  authority  for  the  second 
accentuation. 

pyramidal — ^pe-r^m'i-dal. 

pyrites — pe-ri'tez. 

Pytli-a-go're-an,  or  Py-tMg-o-re'an. 

Pyth'o-ness. 


Q. 

This  consonant  is  always  followed  by  u.  The 
digraph  qu  has  usually  the  sound  of  kw^  as  in 
quail,  quart,  etc. ;  but  in  many  words  from  the 
French  it  has  the  sound  of  Jc,  as  in  coquette,  mas- 
querade, etc.  The  termination  que  is  also  pro- 
nounced Jc,  as  in  oblique,  antique,  etc. 

quadrille — ka-drir,  not  kw6d-ril'. 

quaff,  not  qu6ff. 

qu^g'gy,  not  qu6g'-. 

qud-g^mire,  not  qu5g'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


140 

quan'da-ry,  or  -da'ry. 

Webster  and  one  or  two  lesser  lights  are  the 
only  orthoepists  who  accent  this  word  on  the 
first  syllable  ;  but  that  is  certainly  the  prevailing 
pronunciation  in  this  country. 

quar'rel,  not  quar'l. 

quash — kw6sh,  not  kw^sh. 

quassia — kw6sli^e-a. 

quay — ke. 

quelque  ckose  (Fr.) — ^kgrke  shoz,  not 

k6k  skoz. 

quelle  sottise  (Fr.) — kel  sot'tez'. 

quinine — kwi-nin',  or  kwi^-,  not  ke-nen'. 

qui  vive  (Fr.) — ^ke  vev. 

quoit — kwoit,  not  kwat. 

quoth — kwoth,  or  kwtith. 

"Mr.  Sheridan,  Dr.  Kenrick,  Mr.  Scott,  W. 
Johnston,  Mr.  Nares,  Mr.  Perry,  and  Mr.  Smith 
pronounce  the  o  in  this  word  long,  as  in  both  ; 
but  Buchanan  short,  as  in  moth.  This  latter  pro- 
nunciation is  certainly  more  agreeable  to  the 
general  sound  of  o  before  th^  as  in  hroth^  frothy 
clothy  etc.;  but  my  ear  fails  me  if  I  have  not 
always  heard  it  pronounced  like  the  o  in  doth^  as 
if  written  kwiXth,  which  is  the  pronunciation  Mr. 
Elphinstone  gives  it,  and,  in  my  opinion,  is  the 
true  one." —  Walker, 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


141 
R. 

This  letter  is  never  silent.  It  has  a  peculiar 
influence  on  both  the  long  and  the  short  sound 
of  the  vowels.  Sometimes  it  changes  the  short 
sound  of  a  as  in  man  into  its  Italian  sound,  as  in 
far^  and  the  short  sound  of  o  as  in  not  into  its 
broad  sound,  as  in  nor.  It  has  a  corresponding 
effect  on  the  short  sound  of  the  other  vowels. 
When  r  is  preceded  by  a  short  vowel,  it  some- 
times has  the  effect  of  blending  the  syllables. 
Thus  the  dissyllables  higher^  lower,  mower,  rower, 
sower,  Siiid  flower  are  pronounced  precisely  like 
the  monosyllables  hire,  lore,  more,  roar,  soar, 
and  Jlour, 

rMlsh,  not  red^-. 

raillery — r^^rer-e. 

Webster,  in  the  early  editions  of  his  diction- 
ary, said  rdl'ler-e  ;  and  in  this  some  later  orthoe- 
pists  have  concurred. 

raisonne  (Fr.)— ra'zon'na'. 

ra'jah. 

rancor — ^r^ng'kur. 

r^p'ine,  not  ra-pen^ 

raspberry — r^z'ber-re,  not  rawz'-. 

r^th'er,  o?'  rath'-,  not  ruth'-. 

ratio — ^ra'she-o. 

ra'tion,  not  r^sh'un. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


142 

rational — r^sli'iin-al. 

JRd'shun-al  is  no  longer  permitted  by  any 
orthoepist.  The  like  is  true  of  nd'shun-al  and 
other  words  of  similar  orthography.  Indeed, 
the  making  of  the  a  in  the  first  syllable  of  these 
words  long  was  never  countenanced  by  any  of  the 
English  orthoepists.  It  was  one  of  the  many 
Websterian  innovations. 

re-al-i-za'tion,  not  -i-za'-. 

re'al-ly,  not  rely. 

reb'el,  not  reb'l. 

re-cess'. 

There  is  no  dictionary  authority  for  saying 
re'cess,  though  the  word  is  very  generally  so  pro- 
nounced, even  by  good  speakers. 

reg-ep-tivl-ty. 

rSg-i-pr6g'i-ty. 

reg-i-ta-tive'. 

rec-la-ma'tion. 

re-cltise',  noun  and  adj. 

"  I  all  the  livelong  day 

Consume  in  meditation  deep,  recluse 

From  human  converse."  7,7  .7. 

-—I^hihps, 

Sooner  or  later  the  accent  of  this  word,  when 
a  substantive,  and  also  of  recess,  will  probably,  by 
general  consent,  be  changed  to  the  first  syllable. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


143 

rgc'og-niz-a-ble,  or  re-c6g'ni-za-ble. 

There  is  no  lack  of  authority  for  the  second 
marking,  but  in  this  country  it  is  not  heeded. 

rec'og-nize,  not  re-k6g'niz,  nor  rSk'on-iz. 
rec-ol-lect',  not  re-col-, 
rec'on-dite,  or  re-c5ii'dite. 
reconnaissance  (Fr.) — re'kon'a'sangs'. 
This  is  the  modern  orthography  of  this  word. 

reconnoissance — re-kOn'ni-sance. 
rec-on-noi'tre,  not  re'-, 
re-cord',  verh, 
rec'ord,  nonn^  not  rec'ord. 

Some  of  the  older  writers  accented  this  sub- 
stantive on  the  second  syllable,  as  we  see  in  the 
lines  of  Watts  ; 

"Our  nation  reads  the  written  word, 
That  book  of  life,  that  sure  record^'* 

re-coursed 
rec're-ant,  not  re'-, 
rec're-ate,  to  take  recreation. 
re-cre-ate',  to  create  anew. 
re-cruit'.     See  accrue. 
rSc'ti-tude.     See  adduce. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


144 

r6f'er-a-ble. 

re-f6r'ri-ble. 

"This  word,"  says  Worcester,  "is  given  in 
many  of  the  dictionaries  in  two  forms,  referrihle 
and  referable,  and  both  are  often  met  with  ;  but 
referrihle  is  the  form  that  seems  to  be  the  more 
countenanced  by  the  dictionaries.  Smart  says, 
'  Meferahle,  which  is  to  be  met  with,  violates  the 
practice  of  deduction  from  the  verb.' " 

re'flSx,  not  re-flex'. 

rgf  lu-ent,  not  re-flu'ent. 

r6f 'use,  6>r  ref 'fuz. 

re-fut'a-ble. 

regime  (Fr.) — ^ra'zhem'. 

rSl-ax-a'tion,  or  re-. 

Euphony  and  authority  are  on  the  side  of  the 
first  marking. 

relievo — ^re-leVo. 

This  word,  thus  given  in  the  dictionaries,  is  a 
corruption  of  the  Italian  rilievo.  Inasmuch  as 
our  own  word  relief  has  the  same  meaning  in 
art,  there  is  no  occasion  for  a  corrupt  foreign 
form  ;  and  when  the  Italian  word  is  used,  it 
should  have  its  Italian  spelling  and  pronuncia- 
tion— re-lyd'vo, 

re-me'di-a-ble. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


145 

re-m6d'i-l6ss,  or  r6m'e-di-lSss. 

Ease  of  utterance  makes  the  first  marking 
preferable,  though  the  second  is  that  of  a  major- 
ity of  the  authorities. 

re-morseQess,  not  -lilss.     See  ailment. 

renaissance  (Fr.) — ^re-na'sangs'. 

rendezvous  (Fr.) — ^rSng'da' vdb\ 

renew — re-nu',  not  -nu'. 

renunciation — re-niin-slie-a'shun,  or  -se-. 

See  pronunciation. 

rgp'a-ra-ble. 

r6p-ar-tee'. 

"  A  man  renowned  for  repartee 
Will  seldom  scruple  to  make  free 
With  friendship's  finest  feeling." 

—  Gowper, 

repertoire  (Fr.) — ra'par'twar'. 

rep'er-to-ry. 

rgp'tile,  not  -tile  (antiquated). 

r6p'u-ta-ble. 

re'qui-em,  or  rek^we-em. 

Smart  says  reU'we-em^  and  Worcester  permits 
this  marking. 

re-searchV  not  re'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


146 

rgg'in,  not  rSz^n. 

re§'o-lu-ble. 

Those  who,  like  the  writer,  are  glad  to  have 
an  authority  for  pronouncing  this  word  re-zWu- 
hUy  find  it  in  Sheridan. 

re§-o-lu'tion,  not  -lu'-.     See  adduce. 

rgg'o-n^iice,  not  res'-. 

re-source',  not  re'-. 

"  Pallas  viewed 

His  foes  pursuing,  and  his  friends  pursued  ; 

Used  threatenings  mixed  with  prayers,  his  last 

resource,'''^  t^      -, 

— Dryden, 

re-spir'a-ble. 

Perry  and  Knowles  say  res'pi-ra-ble, 

m 

re-spir'a-to-ry. 

rgs'pite,  not  -pit. 

re-splen'dent,  not  rSs-. 

restaurant — rSs'to-rant. 

In  speaking  English,  to  pronounce  this  word 
d  lafrangaise  is  in  questionable  taste  ;  it  smacks 
of  pedantry. 

restaurateur  (Fr.) — ras'to'ra'tur'. 
re-sto'ra-tive,  not  r6s-t6'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


147 

re-§ume\ 

resume  (Fr.) — ^ra'zu'ma^ 

The  vowel  u  lias  a  sound  in  French  which 
can  not  be  represented  with  English  characters. 
The  sound  is  identical  with  IX  or  ue  in  German. 

re-tail',  verb  ;  re 'tail,  noun, 
re-taiVer,  or  re'tail-er. 
retch,  or  retch. 

Though  the  former  is  more  heard  in  this 
country,  the  latter  has  the  weight  of  authority  in 
its  favor. 

re-trib'u-tive. 
re^tro-cede,  or  ret'ro-. 

All  the  dictionaries  put  the  accent  on  the  first 
syllable  of  this  word  ;  but  in  nearly  all  other 
words  of  similar  formation  it  is  on  the  last,  as 
intercede',  supersede',  etc.  If  this  were  as  com- 
monly used  as  the  others,  we  apprehend  it  would 
have  been  treated  in  like  manner. 

rSt'ro-grade,  or  re'tro-. 

A  large  majority  of  the  orthoepists  give  the 
first  marking.  Indeed,  Smart  is  the  only  one  of 
note  who  prefers  the  second. 

rSt'ro-spect,  or  re'tro-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 
10 


148 

rgv'el-ry,  not  -til-ry. 

revenue — ^rgv'e-nu,  in  prose  ;  re-v6n^yxi, 
in  verse. 

"  Do  not  think  I  flatter  ; 
For  what  advancement  may  I  hope  from  thee, 
That  no  YQvenyxe  hath  but  thy  good  spirits 
To  feed  and  clothe  thee  ?  " 

— Samlet, 
rev'o-ca-ble. 

re-volt',  or  -v6lt'. 

"This  word  has  Mr.  Sheridan,  Dr.  Kenrick, 
Mr.  Perry,  and  Mr.  Buchanan  for  that  pronun- 
ciation which  rhymes  it  with  malt;  but  that 
which  rhymes  it  with  holt,  jolt,  etc.,  has  the 
authority  of  Mr.  Elphinston,  Mr.  Smith,  Mr. 
Scott,  Mr.  Nares,  and  W.  Johnston,  a  clear  anal- 
ogy, and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  best  usage, 
on  its  side." —  Walker, 

rheum — rum. 

rheumatic — ru-m^t'ik. 

rheumatism — ru'ma-tizm. 

rhubarb — ru'barb,  not  ru'-. 

Richelieu — rish'el-yu. 

It  is  doubtful  taste  to  pronounce  this  historic 
name  after  the  French  mode  when  speaking 
English.     It  certainly  smacks  a  bit  of  pedantry. 

ripe'ness,  not  -nils.     See  ailment. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


149 

rige,  verb. 

rise,  or  ri§e,  noun. 

"  This  word  properly  takes  the  pure  sound  of 
s  to  distinguish  it  from  the  verb,  but  does  not 
adhere  to  this  distinction  so  inviolably  as  the 
nouns  use^  excuse^  etc.;  for  we  sometimes  hear 
*the  rise  and  fall  of  the  Roman  empire,'  'the 
rise  and  fall  of  provisions,'  etc.,  with  the  s  like  z. 
The  pure  5,  however,  is  more  agreeable  to  analogy, 
and  ought  to  be  scrupulously  preserved  in  these 
phrases  by  all  correct  speakers." —  Walker, 

Walker's  recommendation  is  little  heeded 
nowadays  by  even  the  most  fastidious. 

risk,  not  resk. 

ro-Mst',  not  ro'btist. 

^-  Survey  the  warlike  horse  ;  didst  thou  invest 
With  thunder  his  rohiist,  distended  chest  ?  " 

—  Young, 
robustious — ro-btist'yus. 

ro-m^nce'. 

Though  ro'mance  is  often  heard  in  cultured 
circles,  it  is  not  sanctioned  by  any  of  the  orthoe- 
pists. 

"  A  staple  of  romance  and  lies. 
False  tears  and  real  perjuries." 

— Prior, 
roof.     See  cooper. 

rook,  (9r  rook. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


150 

root,  not  root.     See  cooper, 
roseate — ^ro'ze-at. 
ro-§e'o-la,  not  ro-§e-6la. 
roue  (Fr.) — ro'a'. 
route — root. 

There  is  abundant  authority  for  pronouncing 
this  word  rowt ;  Tbut  this  pronunciation  is  now 
very  generally  considered  inelegant. 

"Most  of  the  orthoepists  more  recent  than 
Walker  give  the  preference  to  the  pronunciation 
rooV —  Worcester, 

routine  (Fr.) — rotten'. 

ru-be'o-la,  not  ru-be-ola.  , 

Rubinstein,  A. — ru'bin-stin. 

ru'by,  not  ru'-. 

rude,  not  rude.     See  accrue. 

ruffian — rtif  yan,  not  rtif  fi-an. 

Ru'ftis. 

rule,  not  rule. 

ru'mi-nate. 

ru'ral,  not  xvlt. 

ruse  de  guerre  (Fr.) — ruz  de  gar. 

Russian.     See  Prussian. 

Ruy  Bias  (Sp.) — ^ru'e  bias,  not  bla. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


151 


S. 

The  usual  or  genuine  sound  of  this  letter  is 
its  sharp,  hissing,  or  sibilant  sound,  as  in  alas^  sun, 
same,  caps,  stuffs,  etc.  It  has  also  a  soft  sound 
like  z,  as  in  does,  was,  ribs,  prices,  dismal,  etc. 

Combined  with  or  from  the  effect  of  the  suc- 
ceeding vowel,  it  has  the  sound  of  sh  in  words 
ending  in  sion  preceded  by  a  consonant,  as  in 
dimension,  expulsion,  etc.;  also  in  censure,  sen- 
sual, fissure,  pressure,  sure,  insure,  nauseate, 
nauseous,  sugar,  etc. 

It  has  the  sound  of  zh  in  the  termination  sion 
preceded  by  a  vowel,  as  in  contusion,  explosion, 
etc. ;  also  in  many  words  in  which  it  is  preceded 
by  an  accented  vowel  and  followed  by  the  ter- 
mination ure,  as  in  treasure,  exposure,  leisure, 
etc. ;  also  in  a  number  of  words  ending  in  sier,  as 
in  hosier,  etc.;  and  finally  in  elysium,  elysian, 
and  ambrosia. 

In  the  German  language,  s,  beginning  a  syl- 
lable and  followed  by  a  vowel,  has  the  sound  of  z  ; 
at  the  end  of  a  syllable,  it  has  invariably  its  sharp, 
hissing  sound. 

s^5-er-d6'tal,^7io^  sa-cer-. 

sd.c'ra-m8nt,  not  sa'cra-. 

"  This  word,  with  sacrifice,  sacrilege,  and  sac- 
risty, is  sometimes  pronounced  with  the  a  in  the 
first  syllable  long,  as  in  sacred ;  but  this  is  con- 
trary to  one  of  the  clearest  analogies  in  the  lan- 
guage."—  Walker, 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


152 

sacrifice,  verh — s^k're-fiz. 

In  the  words  sacrifice^  suffice,  discern,  and  sice, 
c  has  the  sound  of  z, 
"  They  talk  of  principles,  but  notions  prize, 
And  all  to  one  loved  folly  sacrijice.^^ 

— Pope, 

sacrifice,  noun — s^k're-fiz,  or  -fis. 

The  second  marking  is  authorized  by  Smart 
and  by  Wright. 

sd,c'ri-l6ge,  not  sa'cri-. 

s^c-ri-le'gioils,  not  -lij^iis. 

s^c'ris-ty. 

sa-ga'ciotis,  not  -g^sh'tis. 

said — sed,  not  sad. 

Sainte-Beuve — s^ngt'-bSv'. 

S^ric,  not  SaQic. 

salmon — s^m'un. 

salve — say,  or  salv,  not  s^v. 

"  Dr.  Johnson  tells  us  that  this  word  is  origi- 
nally and  properly  salf ;  which  having  salves  in 
the  plural,  the  singular  in  time  was  borrowed 
from  it ;  sealf,  Saxon,  undoubtedly  from  salvus, 
Latin.  There  is  some  diversity  among  our  ortho- 
epists  about  the  I  in  this  word  and  its  verb.  Mr. 
Sheridan  marks  it  to  be  pronounced  ;  Mr.  Smith, 
W.  Johnston,  and  Barclay  make  it  mute  ;  Mr. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


153 

Scott  and  Mr.  Perry  give  it  both  ways  ;  and  Mr. 
Nares  says  it  is  mute  in  the  noun,  but  sounded 
in  the  verb.  The  mute  I  is  certainly  counte- 
nanced in  this  word  by  calve  and  halve  ;  but,  as 
they  are  very  irregular,  and  are  the  only  words 
where  the  I  is  silent  in  this  situation  (for  valve, 
delve,  solve,  etc.,  have  the  I  pronounced),  and  as 
this  word  is  of  Latin  original,  the  I  ought  cer- 
tainly to  be  preserved  in  both  words  ;  for,  to 
have  the  same  word  sounded  differently  to  sig- 
nify different  things  is  a  defect  in  language  that 
ought,  as  much  as  possible,  to  be  avoided." — 
Walker, 

s^Ver,  not  sa'ver. 

Sa-m^r^i-tan. 

sanguine — s^ng'gwin. 

sapphire — sM.^iir,  or  sM'fir. 

The  second  pronunciation  has  a  great  prepon- 
derance of  authority  in  its  favor  ;  but  the  first, 
which  is  Webster's,  is  both  more  analogical  and 
more  euphonious. 

sarce'net,  not  sar'se-. 

sar'do-nyx. 

sar-sa-pa-rilla,  not  s^s-a-. 

satiate — sa'she-at. 

sa-ti'e-ty,  not  sa'she-ty. 

The  pronunciation  of  this  word  seems  anom- 
alous, from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  only  one  in  the 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


154 

language  having  the  syllable  ti  under  an  accent 
followed  by  a  vowel ;  but  this  syllable  regularly 
takes  the  accent,  in  analogy  with  society^  variety^ 
and  all  other  words  of  similar  formation. 

sa^t'in,  not  s^t'n. 

sa,t'ire. 

This  is  the  marking  of  Webster  and  Craig. 
Smart  says  sdt'er ;  Worcester,  sd'ter ;  Walker, 
sa'tlr, 

sa'trap. 
Sdt'rap  is  becoming  obsolete. 

s^t'ur-nine,  not  sa'tur-nin. 
satyr — sa'tur. 

Smart  alone  prefers  sdt'ur, 

sau'cy,  not  sAs'e. 

sauer  kraut  (Ger.) — zow'er  krowt. 

saunter — san^ter,  or*  saun'-. 

"  The  first  mode  of  pronouncing  this  word  is 
the  most  agreeable  to  analogy,  if  not  in  the  most 
general  use  ;  but  where  use  has  formed  so  clear 
a  rule  as  in  words  of  this  form,  it  is  wrong  not 
to  follow  it.  Mr.  Elphinston,  Dr.  Kenrick,  Mr. 
Nares,  and  Mr.  Scott  are  for  the  first  pronuncia- 
tion ;  and  Mr.  Sheridan  and  W.  Johnston  for  the 
last."—  Walker. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  d.  6. 


155 


sau'sage. 


The  pronunciation  sds^sij,  now  exceedingly- 
vulgar,  was  at  one  time  countenanced  by  good 
usage,  and  was  preferred  by  several  ortboepists 
of  the  last  century. 

savoir  faire  (Fr.) — s^-v^war'  far. 

says — sez,  not  saz. 

sca^bi-oiis. 

sc^ld,  07'  scald,  a  Scandinavian  poet. 

scallop,  verb  and  noun — skSl'lup. 

"  This  word  is  irregular  ;  for  it  ought  to  have 
the  a  in  the  first  syllable  like  that  in  tallow  ;  but 
the  deep  sound  of  a  is  too  firmly  fixed  by  custom 
to  afford  any  expectation  of  a  change.  Mr.  Sheri- 
dan, Mr.  Scott,  Dr.  Kenrick,  Mr.  Nares,  and  Mr. 
Smith  pronounce  the  a  in  the  manner  I  have 
given  it." —  Walker, 

scarce,  not  stars,  7ior  skers  (obsolete), 
sc^th,  not  skatli  (old), 
scen'ic. 
Smart  says  sce'nic, 

schedule — skSd'yul. 

The  orthoepists  give  us  seven  or  eight  differ- 
ent ways  to  pronounce  this  word.  This  is  the 
marking  of  both  Worcester  and  Webster. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


156 

schism — sizm,  not  siz'tim. 

"  The  common  pronunciation  of  this  word  is 
contrary  to  every  rule  for  pronouncing  words 
from  the  learned  languages,  and  ought  to  be 
altered.  Ch^  in  English  words,  coming  from 
Greek  words  with  x^  ought  always  to  be  pro- 
nounced like  h  ;  and  I  believe  the  word  in  ques- 
tion is  almost  the  only  exception  throughout  the 
language.  However  strange,  therefore,  skizm 
may  sound,  it  is  the  only  true  and  analogical 
pronunciation  ;  and  we  might  as  well  pronounce 
scheme  seme  as  schism  sizm,  there  being  exactly 
the  same  reason  for  both.  But,  when  once  a 
false  pronunciation  is  fixed,  as  this  is,  it  requires 
some  daring  spirit  to  begin  the  reformation  ;  but 
when  once  begun,  as  it  has  (what  seldom  hap- 
pens) truth,  novelty,  and  the  appearance  of  Greek 
erudition  on  its  side,  there  is  no  doubt  of  its  suc- 
cess. Whatever,  therefore,  may  be  the  fate  of  its 
pronunciation,  it  ought  still  to  retain  its  spelling. 
This  must  be  held  sacred,  or  the  whole  language 
will  be  metamorphosed  ;  for  the  very  same  reason 
that  induced  Dr.  Johnson  to  spell  sceptick  skep- 
tick,  ought  to  have  made  him  spell  schism^  sizm 
and  schedule  sedule.  All  our  orthoepists  pro- 
nounce the  word  as  I  have  marked  it." —  Walker. 

scliismatic — siz-m^t'ik. 
schooner — skobn'er,  not  skdbn'-. 
Schubert — shob'bert,  not  -bar. 
Schurz,  Carl — shdbrts. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


157 

scSff,  not  scauf.     See  accost. 

scor-bu'tic. 

screw — skru,  not  skru. 

scr6f'u-la,  not  skrauf '-.     See  accost. 

scru'ple.     See  accrue. 

scru'pu-lous. 

scru'ti-ny. 

sculpture — sktilpt'yur. 

seamstress — sem'stres,  or  sem'-. 

Webster  is  the  only  orthoepist  of  note  who 
gives  the  second  marking. 

seance  (Fr.) — sa'angss'. 

seckel,  a  small  pear — sSk'kl,  not  sikl. 

se-clude',  not  -clud'.     See  adduce. 

sec're-ta-ry,  not  s6c'u-ta-ry. 

se-d^n',  a  hind  of  chair. 

s6d'a-tive. 

se-duce'.     See  adduce. 

seigneurial-r— sen-yu'ri-al. 

seine,  a  net — sen,  not  san. 

Seine,  river — san. 

sem'i,  not  sem'i. 

sempstress — sem'stres. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


158 

se'nile,  not  se'nil. 

sen'na,  not  se'na. 

sentient — sen'she-ent. 

sen'ti-ment.     See  ailment. 

sepulchre,  noun — sep'ul-ker. 

"I  consider  this  word  as  having  altered  its 
original  accent  on  the  second  syllable,  either  by 
the  necessity  or  caprice  of  the  poets,  or  by  its 
similitude  to  the  generality  of  words  of  this  form 
and  number  of  syllables,  which  generally  have 
the  accent  on  the  first  syllable.  Dr.  Johnson 
tells  us  it  is  accented  by  Shakespeare  and  Milton 
on  the  second  syllable,  but  by  Jonson  and  Prior, 
more  properly,  on  the  first ;  and  he  might  have 
added,  as  Shakespeare  has  sometimes  done." — 
Walker, 

sepulchre,  verb — se-ptirker. 

se'quel,  not  -kwil. 

se-qu6s'trate. 

sequestration — sek-wes-tra'shun. 

sequestrator — sek^wes-tra-tur. 

Se-ra'pis. 

sergeant — sar'jent,  or  ser'-. 

There  is  but  little  authority  for  the  second 
marking. 

"  There  is  a  remarkable  exception  to  the  com- 
mon sound  of  the  letter  e  in  the  words  clerk,  ser^ 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


159 

geant,  and  a  few  others,  where  we  find  the  e  pro- 
nounced like  the  a  in  dark  and  margin.  But  this 
exception,  I  imagine,  was,  till  within  these  few 
years,  the  general  rule  of  sounding  this  letter 
before  r,  followed  by  another  consonant.  Thirty 
years  ago  every  one  pronounced  the  first  syllable 
of  r)ierchant  like  the  monosyllable  march,  and  as 
it  was  originally  written,  marchant.  Service  and 
servant  are  still  heard,  among  the  lower  orders  of 
speakers,  as  if  written  sarvice  and  sarvant ;  and 
even  among  the  better  sort  we  sometimes  hear 
the  salutation,  *  Sir,  your  sarvant,''  though  this 
pronunciation  of  the  word  singly  would  be  looked 
upon  as  a  mark  of  the  lowest  vulgarity.  The 
proper  names  Derby  and  Berkeley  still  retain  the 
old  sound  ;  but  even  these,  in  polite  usage,  are 
getting  into  the  common  sound,  nearly  as  if 
written  Durhy  and  JBurkeley,  As  this  modern 
pronunciation  of  the  e  has  a  tendency  to  simplify 
the  language  by  lessening  the  number  of  ex- 
ceptions, it  ought  certainly  to  be  indulged." — 
Walker, 

"  The  letters  er  are  irregularly  sounded  ar  in 
clerk  and  sergeant,  and  formerly,  but  not  now,  in 
m^er chant,  Derby,  and  several  other  words." — 
Smart, 

"  In  the  United  States,  the  letters  er  are,  by 
good  speakers,  regularly  sounded,  as  in  her,  in 
the  w^ords  merchant,  servant,  Derby,  Berkeley, 
etc.  The  regular  pronunciation  of  clerk  {clurk) 
is  also  a  very  common,  if  not  the  prevailing, 
mode.  Many  give  the  same  sound  to  e  in  ser- 
geant.'^'*—  Worcester, 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


160 

series — se'rez,  or  se'ri-ez. 

serVile,  not  -vil. 

serVi-tude,  not  -tud. 

ses'a-me. 

sew — so,  not  su. 

sewer,  one  who  sews— so'er. 

sewer,  an  under-ground  drain — su'er. 

Walker  and  half  a  dozen  other  orthoepists  say 
shor ;  Smart  says  soor,  and  maintains  that  shor 
is  vulgar  ;  Worcester  says  soo'er  or  shor ;  and 
finally,  Webster  and  Wright  say  svler^  which  is 
the  pronunciation  always  heard  here. 

sh. 

This  digraph  represents  the  simple  sound 
heard  in  shelf ^  fleshy  usher,  etc.,  and  is  never 
silent. 

"  It  is  expressed :  1.  By  c,  as  in  oceanic, 
emaciation  ;  2.  By  s,  as  in  nauseate,  Asiatic  ; 
3.  By  t,  as  in  negotiation  ;  4.  By  ce,  as  in  ocean  ; 
5.  By  c^,  as  in  soc^al ;  6.  By  se,  as  in  nauseous  ; 
7.  By  s^,  as  in  tens/on  ;  8.  By  ti,  as  in  cap^/ous  ; 

9.  By  the  si  implied  in  xi  {=ksi)y  as  in  nocc/ous  ; 

10.  By  the  sy  implied  in  su  (=syw),  as  in  mensu- 
ration ;  11.  By  the  sy  implied  in  xu  {=ks]/u),  as 
in  IxixuYj  ;  12.  By  ch,  as  in  cAaise,  charlatan, 
machine  ;  13.  By  chs,  as  in  fucAsia  ;  14.  By  so, 
as  in  conscientious  ;  15.  By  schy  as  in  scAorl ; 
16.  By  sci,  as  in  consc^ence." —  TT.  A.  Wheeler: 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


161 

shall,  auxiliary — sh^l,  or  sh'l,  accord- 
ing to  the  stress  put  upon  it. 

The  auxiliaries,  like  the  pronouns  and  a  long 
list  of  the  particles,  are  touched  but  lightly  when 
they  are  not  emphatic  and  the  utterance  is  natu- 
ral. 

sha'n't  {shall  nof) — shant,  not  sh^nt. 

sheath,  noun  ;  pi.,  sheath  §. 

she,  or  she,  according  to  the  demands 

of  the  emphasis. 

"Then,  with  eyes  that  saw  not,  I  kissed  her  ; 
And  she  [she],  kissing  back,  could  not  know 
That  my  \ml\  kiss  was  given  to  her  sister." 

"  Oh,  she  \she\  too  died  a  short  time  since  ; 
she  \she\  broke  a  blood-vessel  in  a  fit  of  passion." 

sheik — shek. 

shekel — shekl,  not  she'kl, 

shew — sho. 

shewn — shon. 

shire,  or  shire. 

"The  pronunciation  of  this  word  is  very 
irregular,  as  it  is  the  only  pure  English  word  in 
the  language  where  the  final  e  does  not  produce 
the  long  diphthongal  sound  of  i  when  the  accent 
is  on  it ;  but  this  irregularity  is  so  fixed  as  to 
give  the  regular  sound  a  pedantic  stiffness.    Mr. 

'^  See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


162 

Sheridan,  Mr.  Scott,  and  Buchanan,  however, 
have  adopted  this  sound,  in  which  they  have 
been  followed  by  Mr.  Smith  ;  but  Mr.  Elphin- 
ston,  Dr.  Lowth,  Dr.  Kenrick,  Mr.  Perry,  and 
Barclay  are  for  the  irregular  sound  ;  W.  John- 
ston gives  both,  but  places  the  irregular  first.  It 
may  likewise  be  observed  that  this  word,  when 
unaccented  at  the  end  of  words,  as  Nottingham' 
shire^  Wiltshire,  etc.,  is  always  pronounced  with 
the  i  like  €6." —  Walker, 

shoe — shoo,  not  shu. 
shone — shon,  or  sh6n. 

"  This  word  is  frequently  pronounced  so  as  to 
rhyme  with  tone  ;  but  the  short  sound  of  it  is  by 
far  the  most  usual  among  those  who  may  be 
styled  polite  speakers." —  Walker, 

Webster  and  others  give  the  first  pronuncia- 
tion ;  Smart,  Worcester,  and  others,  the  second, 
which  violates  an  almost  uniform  analogy,  and  is 
rarely  heard  in  this  country.  This  and  gone  are 
the  only  words  of  similar  formation  in  which  the 
regular  short  sound  of  o  is  ever  heard,  the  only 
other  exceptions  to  the  long  sound  being  a  few 
words  in  which  the  o  has  the  sound  of  short  u,  as 
done,  love,  etc. 

short-lived,  not  -livd. 
shrew — shru,  not  shru. 
shrewd — shrud,  not  shrud. 
shriek — shrek,  not  srek. 

See  Key  to  PronunciatioD,  p.  6. 


163 

shrill,  not  sril. 
strine,  not  srin. 
shrink,  not  srink. 
shrtib,  not  sriib. 
shrug,  not  srlig. 
sibyl — sib'il,  not  si'bil. 
sice — siz.     See  sacrifice, 
sigli — si. 

"  A  very  extraordinary  pronunciation  of  this 
word  prevails  in  London,  and,  what  is  more 
extraordinary,  on  the  stage — so  different  from 
every  other  word  of  the  same  form  as  to  make  it  a 
perfect  oddity  in  the  language.  This  pronuncia- 
tion approaches  to  the  word  sithe  [scythe]  ;  and 
the  only  difference  is  that  sithe  has  the  flat  aspira- 
tion, as  in  this^  and  sigh  the  sharp  one,  as  in  thin. 
It  is  not  easy  to  conjecture  what  could  be  the 
reason  of  this  departure  from  analogy,  unless  it 
were  to  give  the  word  a  sound  which  seems  an 
echo  to  the  sense." —  Walker. 

"  This  ^  extraordinary  pronunciation '  of  sigh 
is  more  or  less  common  in  some  parts  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  not  countenanced  by  any  of 
the  orthoepists." —  Worcester. 

silhouette  (Fr.)— se'lo-et'. 
sim'i-le,  not  simll. 
si-mul-ta'ne-otis,  not  sim-ul-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 
U 


164 

since,  not  sSnce. 
si'ne-cure,  not  sin'e-. 
si^ne  di'e  (Lat.). 
sin'is-ter,  or  sj-nis'ter. 

"  This  word,  in  the  sense  of  left,  is  accented 
by  the  poets  Milton,  Dry  den,  etc.,  on  the  second 
syllable,  though  most  lexicographers  and  orthoe- 
pists  accent  it  on  the  first  syllable,  whether  it  is 
used  in  the  sense  of  left  or  perverse.  Walker 
says  :  '  This  word,  though  uniformly  accented  on 
the  second  syllable  in  the  poets  quoted  by  John- 
son, is  as  uniformly  accented  on  the  first  by  all 
our  lexicographers,  and  is  uniformly  so  pro- 
nounced by  the  best  speakers.  Mr.  Nares  tells 
us  that  Dr.  Johnson  seenis  to  think  that,  when 
this  word  is  used  in  its  literal  sense — as, 
*'  In  his  sinister  hand,  instead  of  a  ball, 
He  placed  a  mighty  mug  of  potent  ale," 

{Dryden) — 

it  has  the  accent  on  the  second  syllable  ;  but 
when  in  the  figurative  sense  of  corrupt,  insidious^ 
etc.,  on  the  first.  This  distinction  seems  not  to 
be  founded  on  the  best  usage.' " —  Worcester. 

sFren,  not  sir'en. 

Sir'i-us  (Lat.). 

sirrali — sir'ra,  s^r'ra,  or  ser'ra. 

"This  [sdr'ra\  is  a  corruption  of  the  first 
magnitude,  but  too  general  and  inveterate  to  be 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


165 

remedied,  Mr.  Sheridan,  Mr.  Nares,  Mr.'  Scott, 
Dr.  Ken  rick,  and  Mr.  Perry  pronounce  it  as  I 
have  done.  W.  Johnston  alone  pronounces  it  as 
if  written  serrah ;  and  Mr.  Elphinston,  because 
it  is  derived  from  sir  and  the  interjection  ah, 
says  it  ought  to  have  the  first  syllable  like  sir,''' 
—  Walker, 

sir'up. 

Though  sanctioned,  sUr'rup  may  be  set  down 
as  being  rather  inelegant. 

sky — ski,  skei,  skyi,  or  sk'y.    See  kind. 

slan'der,  or  sMn'der. 

sMb'ber. 

This  word  is  pronounced  colloquially  sldh'ber, 
and  sometimes  so  written. 

"  The  second  sound  of  this  word  is  by  much 
the  more  usual  one  ;  but,  as  it  is  in  direct  opposi- 
tion to  the  orthography,  it  ought  to  be  discounte- 
nanced, and  the  a  restored  to  its  true  sound." — 
Walker, 

sMng. 

slant. 

slate, 

slaugh'ter. 

sleek,  not  slick. 

slew — slu. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


166 

sliv'er,  or  sliVer. 

The  first  marking,  the  prevailing  pronuncia- 
tion in  this  country,  is  that  of  Webster  and 
Craig  ;  the  second,  that  of  all  the  other  ortho- 
epists.  ^ 

sloth. 

Webster  alone  marks  the  o  of  this  word  and 
its  derivatives  short. 

slotli'ful. 

slougb,  the  cast  skin  of  a  serpent — sltif. 

slough,  a  deep^  miry  place — slou. 

sloven — sluv'n,  not  slov'n. 

sobriquet  (Fr.) — so'bre'ka'. 

sociability — so-she-a-bil'i-te. 

sociable — so  'she-a-bl. 

s5ft.     See  accost. 

soften — s6f 'n,  not  s6f 'ten. 

soiree  (Fr.) — swa'ra'. 

so'Journ,  noun. 

so-journ',  or  so'journ,  verh 

"  This  noun  and  verb  are  variously  accented 
by  the  poets  ;  but  our  modern  orthoepists  have, 
in  general,  given  the  accent  to  the  first  syllable 
of  both  words."—  Walker, 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6, 


167 

so-journ'er. 

All  the  authorities,  so  far  as  the  writer  knows, 
place  the  accent  of  this  word  on  the  first  syllable, 
thus,  sd[journ-er.  Ease  of  utterance,  euphony, 
and  analogy  demand  the  penultimate  accentua- 
tion, which  is  accordingly  recommended  here. 

solder — s&l'der,  s6d'der,  or  saw'der. 

"  Dr.  Johnson  seems  to  favor  writing  this  word 
without  the  I,  as  it  is  sometimes  pronounced  ;  but 
the  many^ examples  he  has  brought,  where  it  is 
spelt  with  l^  show  sufficiently  how  much  this  or- 
thography is  established.  .  .  .  Though  our  ortho- 
epists  agree  in  leaving  out  the  /,  they  differ  in 
pronouncing  the  o.  Sheridan  sounds  the  o  as  in 
sod^;  W.  Johnston  as  in  sober  ;  and  Mr.  Nares  as 
the  dipththong  aw.  Mr.  Smith  says  that  Mr. 
Walker  pronounces  the  I  in  this  word,  but  every 
workman  pronounces  it  as  rhyming  ^'ith.  fodder  '; 
to  which  it  may  be  answered  that  workmen  ought 
to  take  their  pronunciation  from  scholars,  and  not 
scholars  from  workmen." — Walker, 

sSl'e-cism,  not  sole-. 

sSrstice,  not  sol'-. 

so-lu'tion,  not  -lu'-. 

sftm'bre,  or  s6m\ 

ISTearly  all  the  orthoepists  mark  the  o  of  this 
word  long.  It  is  not  easy  to  see  why,  especially 
as  it  comes  to  us  through  the  French,  in  which 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


168 

language  the  o  is  more  like  our  short  than  our 
long  o.  True,  the  long  o  makes  the  word  some- 
what more  sonorous. 

sftm'brous,  or  som'-. 

sSn'net,  not  son'-. 

so-no'rous,  not  s6n'o-. 

soon,  not  soon. 

soot,  or  soot,  not  sM. 

"Notwithstanding  I  have  Mr.  Sheridan,  Mr. 
Nares,  Dr.  Kenrick,  W.  Johnston,  Mr.  Perry, 
and  the  professors  of  the  black  art  themselves 
against  me  in  the  pronunciation  of  this  word,  I 
have  ventured  to  prefer  the  regular  pronuncia- 
tion to  the  irregular.  The  adjective  sooty  has 
its  regular  sound  among  the  correctest  speakers, 
which  has  induced  Mr.  Sheridan  to  mark  it  so  ; 
but  nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  pronounce 
the  substantive  in  one  manner,  and  the  adjective, 
derived  from  it  by  adding  y,  in  another.  The 
other  orthoepists,  therefore,  who  pronounce  both 
these  words  with  the  oo  like  %  are  more  consistent 
than  Mr.  Sheridan,  though,  upon  the  whole,  not 
so  right." —  Walker, 

soothe. 

"2%,  at  the  end  of  words,  is  sharp,  as  deaths 
breath,  etc.,  except  in  beneath,  booth,  with,  and 
the  verbs  to  seeth,  to  smooth,  to  sooth,  to  mouth, 
all  which  ought  to  be  written  with  e  final,  not 
only  to  distinguish  some  of  them  from  the  nouns, 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


Nouns^  etc.  Verbs, 

Sheath,  to  sheath,  sheathe. 

Smooth,  to  smooth. 

Sooth,  to  sooth. 

Swath,  to  swathe. 


169 

but  to  show  that  tli  is  soft ;  for  th^  when  final,  is 
sometimes  pronounced  soft,  as  in  to  mouth  ;  yet 
the^  at  the  end  of  words,  is  never  pronounced 
hard.  There  is  as  obvious  an  analogy  for  this 
sound  of  th  in  these  verbs,  as  for  the  z  sound  of 
s  in  verbs  ending  in  se ;  and  why  we  should 
write  some  verbs  with  e,  and  others  without  it,  is 
inconceivable.  The  best  way  to  show  the  ab- 
surdity of  our  orthography,  in  this  particular, 
will  be  to  draw  out  the  nouns  and  verbs  as  they 
stand  in  Johnson's  Dictionary  : 

Nouns^  etc.       Verbs. 
Bath,  to  bathe. 

Breath,       to  breathe, 

rioth  i  *^  clothe, 

^^^^^'  \  to  uncloath. 

Loath,         to  loathe.  |     Txr„^„i.u         )  to  wreath. 

Mouth,       to  mouth.         |     ^  ^®^^^^'       ]  to  inwreathe. 

"Surely  nothing  can  be  more  evident  than 
the  analogy  of  the  language  in  this  case.  Is  it 
not  absurd  to  hesitate  a  moment  at  writing  all 
the  verbs  with  e  final  ?  This  is  a  departure  f rori^ 
our  great  lexicographer  which  he  himself  would 
approve,  as  nothing  but  inadvertency  could  have 
led  him  into  this  unmeaning  irregularity." — 
Walker, 

"Although  Walker  speaks  so  decidedly  on 
this  matter,  yet  he  has  not  accommodated  the 
orthography  of  all  these  words  to  the  principle 
which  he  inculcates.  It  could  be  wished  that  all 
the  words  of  this  class  were  conformed  in  their 
orthography  to  this  rule.  The  only  ones  which 
are  not  now  actually,  by  respectable  usage,  con- 
formed to  it,  are  the  verbs  to  mouth  and  to  , 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


170 

smooth,  which  we  hardly  ever  see  written  to 
inouthe  and  to  smoothe,'^'' —  Worcester, 

sobth'say-er,  not  sdoth'-. 
s6p-o-rif' ic,  not  so-po-. 
sSr'ry,  not  saw'iy. 
sough — stif. 
souse,  not  souz. 
souvenir — sov^ner'. 
sov'er-eign,  or  s5v'-. 

In  England  the  o  of  this  word  is  generally 
sounded  like  o  in  on,  while  in  the  United  States 
it  is  generally  sounded  like  o  in  son. 

spaniel — sp^n'yel. 
sp^§m,  not  sp^z'um. 
specialty — spesli'al-te. 
species — spe'shez,  or  -shez. 

A  tautophonic  objection  to  the  second  mark- 
ing will,  probably,  make  the  first  one  generally 
preferred. 

specious — spe'shus. 

sper-ma-ce'ti. 

splie'roid. 

spinacli,  or  spinage — spin^ej. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6.- 


171 

spirit,  not  spir^tit. 

"The  general  sound  of  the  first  ^,  in  this 
word  and  all  its  compounds,  was  till  lately  the 
sound  of  e  in  merit ;  but  a  very  laudable  atten- 
tion to  propriety  has  nearly  restored  the  i  to  its 
true  sound  ;  and  now  spirit  sounded  as  if  written 
sperit  begins  to  grow  vulgar." —  Walker, 

spir'it-ed,  not  spir'et-ud. 

splSn'e-tic. 

spruce,  not  spruce.     See  accrue. 

squalid — squSrid,  not  squ^l'-. 

squalor. 

This  is  the  marking  of  all  the  dictionaries  ; 
but  universal  usage  makes  the  word  squd'lor, 

squirrel — skwiir'rel,  skwir'-,  or  skwer'-. 

"  The  i  in  this  word  ought  not,  according  to 
analogy,  to  be  pronounced  like  e;  but  custom 
seems  to  have  fixed  it  too  firmly  in  that  sound  to 
be  altered  without  the  appearance  of  pedantry." 
—  Walker. 

See  panegyric.  The  above  note  assumes  that 
the  word  must  be  pronounced  with  the  sound 
either  of  short  i  or  of  short  e  ;  but  in  this  coun- 
try the  general  pronunciation  is  that  first  given. 

stal'wart,  or  stSl'-. 
sMmp,  not  stSmp. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


172 

stanch,  not  stanch, 
stead — sted,  not  stid. 
stead'y,  not  stid'y. 
steeryard. 

Colloquially  in  the  United  States,  stiVyard ; 
in  England,  according  to  Smart,  stel'yard, 

"  This  word,  in  common  usage  among  those 
who  weigh  heavy  bodies,  has  contracted  its  double 
e  into  single  ^,  and  is  pronounced  as  if  written 
stilyard.  This  contraction  is  so  common,  in  com- 
pound words  of  this  kind,  as  to  become  an  idiom 
of  pronunciation,  which  can  not  be  easily  coun- 
teracted without  opposing  the  current  of  the  lan- 
guage."—  Walker, 

"  It  is  sometimes  written  stillyard,-'* —  Crdbh, 

ste're-0-scope,  or  ster'e-. 
ste're-o-type,  or  ster'e-. 
steward — stu'ard,  not  stu^-. 
stint,  not  stSnt. 
stir'rup,  or  sttir'rup. 
stsrid,  not  stolid, 
stom'a-clier,  not  -ker. 
stone,  not  stiin. 
ston'y,  not  stun'e. 
storm,  not  stawm. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


173 

stra-teg'ic,  or  -te'gic. 

Webster  and  Cull  are  the  only  authorities  for 
the  second  pronunciation. 

strength,  not  strenth. 

strew — stru,  or  stro. 

The  first  place  is  given  here  to  stru  because 
that  is  the  marking  of  the  majority  of  the  ortho- 
epists,  and  because  both  Worcester  and  Webster 
give  it  the  preference.  The  writer  personally  pre- 
fers stro^  thinking  it  the  easier  of  utterance  and 
the  more  sonorous  ;  in  fact,  the  sound  of  long  o 
is  the  most  sonorous  sound  in  the  language. 

stry^li'nine,  or  -nine. 

stu'dent,  not  stu'-.     See  adduce. 

stu-pen^dotis. 

stu'pid,  not  stu'-. 

suavity — sw^^v'e-te,  not  su-^v^-. 

sub-artern. 

The  antepenultimate  accentuation  of  this 
word  is  becoming  obsolete. 

sub-due',  not  -du'.     See  adduce. 

sub-ject'ed,  not  siib'Ject-ed. 

"  A  very  improper  accentuation  {siXh'ject-ed) 
of  the  passive  participle  of  the  verb  to  subject 
has  obtained,  which  ought  to  be  corrected." — 
Walker, 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


174 

siib-lu^nar. 
sub'lu-na-ry. 

subpoena — stib-pe^na,  not  stip-. 
sub-si'dence,  not  siib'si-. 
substantiate — sub-st^n^slie-at. 
stib'stan-tive-ly,  not  sub-st^n'-. 
subtile,  tTiiUy  rare^  fine — sub 'til. 
subtle,  sly  J  artful^  cunning — slitl. 

These  two  words  are  often  confounded  with 
each  other  both  in  orthography  and  pronuncia- 
tion. 

stib'tirb,  7iot  su'burb. 

sub-urb'an. 

such,  not  sech,  nor  sich. 

stid'den,  not  stid'n. 

suffice — suf-fiz',  not  -fis^     See  sacrifice, 

sug-gest'. 

Smart  marks  this  word  sud-j^st\ 

"  Though  the  first  g  in  exaggerate  is,  by  a 
carelessness  of  pronunciation,  assimilated  to  the 
last,  this  is  not  always  the  case  in  the  present 
word.  For,  though  we  sometimes  hear  it  sounded 
as  if  written  sud-jest,  the  most  correct  speakers 
generally  preserve  the  first  and  last  g  in  their 
distinct  and  separate  sounds." —  Walker. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


175 

su-i-ci'dal,  not  su-igl-dal. 

suite — swet,  not  sut. 

sul-ta'na,  or  -ta'-. 

sul-phii'ric. 

sum'ma-ry,  not  -mer-e. 

summoned — stim^mund,  not  -munzd. 

su'per-a-ble. 

su-per-e-r6g'a-to-ry,  or  su-per-er'o-ga-, 

su-per'flu-ous,  not  sii-per-flu'-. 

Suppe,  F.  von — zob'pe. 

supple — sup'pl,  not  sdb'pl. 

sup-po§e',  not  spoz. 

sure — shnr,  not  shur. 

surety — shur'te,  not  shur'te. 

sur-named\ 

sur-pri§e',  not  sup-. 

sur-vey',  verb, 

sur'vey,  noun. 

Su'gan,  not  su'-. 

suture — sut'yur. 

swarth'y,  not  swatli'y. 

swath — swStli. 

sword — sord. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


176 

syl-Mb'ic. 
syn'od,  not  si'nSd. 
syringe,  not  syr-inge^ 
sys'to-le. 


This  letter  is  silent  in  the  terminations  te7i 
and  tie  after  s  and  f,  as  in  fasten^  listen,  often, 
soften,  gristle,  castle,  throstle,  bristle,  etc.  It  is 
also  silent  in  the  words  chestnut,  Christmas,  host- 
ler or  ostler,  mistletoe,  and  mortgage, 

td-b'er-na-cle. 

tableau ;  pl.^  tableaux  (Fr.) — ^t^'blo'. 

Tal-mtid'ic. 

t^p'es-try,  not  td,ps'tre,  nor  ta'pes-tre. 

tapis  (Fr.) — ta'pe'. 

tar-pauliu,  not  tar-polin. 

Tarpeian — ^tar-p  e  ^y  an . 

Tar-ta're-an,  not  tar-ta-re'an. 

tar-t^rlc,  not  tar-tarlc. 

t^s'sel. 

The  authority  for  saying  tds'sl  is  very  slight 
and  antiquated. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


177 

Mt-ter-de-mdl'ion,  not  -marion. 
Taubert  (Ger.) — ^tow'bert. 
taunt — ^tant. 
Several  of  the  older  orthoepists  said  tawnt 

t^v'ern,  not  taVern. 

Tchaikowsky,  P. — chi-kuvs'ke. 

teat — tet,  not  tit. 

tedious — te 'de-US,  or  ted'yus. 

te-leg'ra-pliy,  not  tere-grdpli-y. 

Telemaclius — te-lem'a-kiis. 

tem^per-a-ment,  not  -mtint.    See  ailment. 

tem'per-at-ure,  or  tem'per-a-ttire. 

t6n'a-ble,  not  te'na-. 

tenacious — ^te-na'shus,  not  -n^sh'us. 

ten'et,  not  te'net. 

Some  of  the  older  orthoepists  said  te'net,  but 
now  the  weight  of  authority  is  decidedly  in  favor 
of  the  marking  we  have  given. 

tenure — ten'yur. 
tSp'id,  not  te'pid. 
ter-gi-ver-sa'tion. 
ter'ra-pin,  not  ttir'-. 
Terpsichore — terp-sik'o-re. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


178 

Terp-si-€lio-re^an. 
tete-Uete  (Fr.)— tat^-a'-tat'. 
Tha-li'a. 

tMnks'giv-ing,  or  tlianks-giv'ilig, 
the,  wlien  emphatic  j  otherwise^  the. 
the'a-tre,  not  the'a-tre. 
their — th4r,  when  emphatic;  otherwise^ 
ther. 

"  Hearing  their  [^Aer]  conversation  and  their 

[ther\  accounts  of  the  \the\  approbation  their 
ther\  papers  were  received  with,  I  was  excited 
to  try  my  \m%\  hand  among  them  [^A'm]." — 
Franklin, 

"  If  their  [thdr]  loss  were  as  great  as  yours,  it 
would  bankrupt  them  [^A'm]." 

them,  when  emphatic  /  otherwise,  them, 
or  th'm. 

"If  you  give  me  [me]  money,  what  are  you 
going  to  give  them  [them]  ?  " 

"  If  I  had  them  [th^m]  now,  I  should  know 
what  to  do  with  them  [th'm]" 

th6r-a-peu'tic. 

therefore — therefor. 

Though  thdr'/or  is  permissible,  it  is  generally 
accounted  inelegant. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


179 

thereof — ^ther-Sv',  or  tiier-6ff'. 
there-witli',  or  -with^ 
Theuriet,  Andre — tu're-a'. 
they — tiia,  when  emphatic  y    otherwise^ 
tha. 

"  We'll  see  our  husbands  before  they  \tha\  think 

of  us." 
"  Shall  they  \tha\  see  us  ?  " 

."  So  she  asked  him  what  they  \tha\  were, 
whence  they  [^Aa]  came,  and  whither  they  \thq\ 
were  bound." 

Thiers — ^te-ar'. 

thousand — ^thou'zand,  not  -zan. 

threw — thru. 

three-legged — three'-legd,  or  -I6g-g6d. 

thresh'old,  or  -hold. 

thrSng.     See  accost. 

thyme — tim. 

ti-a'ra,  or  ti-a'ra. 

ticklish,  not  -el-ish. 

tid'bit. 

tiers  etat  (Fr.) — te-ar'  za'ta'. 

ti'ny,  not  tin'y,  nor  te'ny. 

ti-rade'. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 
12 


180 

to — ^to,  or  to,  depending  upon  the  stress 
it  receives, 

"  From  morn 
To  \to\  noon  he  fell,  from  noon  to  \to\  dewy  eve." 

We  say,  "He  is  at  home,"  not  "  to  \to'\  home." 

to-ma^to,  or  -ma'-, 
tobtli'aclie,  not  teetli'aclie. 
to-p5g'ra-pliy. 
tSp-o-gr^plilc,  not  to-po-. 
tortoise — ^tor'tiz,  or  -tis,  nx)t  -tois. 
Toulmouclie — tdbrmopsli^ 
tout-^-fait  (Fr.)— to■b'-ta'-fa^ 
tout  court  (Fr.) — too  kobr. 
toward — to'ard,  not  to-ward'. 
towards — to'ardz,  not  to-wardz'. 

"Notwithstanding  our  poets  almost  univer- 
sally accent  this  word  on  the  first  syllable,  and 
the  poets  are  pretty  generally  followed  by  good 
speakers,  there  are  some,  and  those  not  of  the 
lowest  order,  who  still  place  the  accent  on  the 
second.  These  should  be  reminded  that,  as  in- 
loards,  outwards,  backwards,  forwards,  and  every 
other  word  of  the  same  form,  have  the  accent  on 
the  first  syllable,  there  is  not  the  least  reason  for 
pronouncing  towards  with  the  accent  on  the  last." 
—  Walker, 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


181 

tranquil — tr^ng'kwil. 

tr^ns-^ct',  not  trtoz-. 

transition — trd-n-sizli'un,  or  -sisli'un. 

tr^ns-lu'cent,  not  -lu'-. 

tr^ns'mi-grate. 

tra,ns-par'ent,  not  -pa'-. 

tr^ns-pire\ 

This  word  is  frequently  misused  in  the  sense 
of  to  happen,  to  occur.  It  is  properly  used  in  the 
sense  of  to  become  known, 

tr^v'el,  not  tr^v'l. 

tr^v'el-ler,  not  tr^vQer. 

tr^v'erse,  not  tra-verse'. 

treble — treb'l,  not  trib'l. 

This  is  one  of  the  long  list  of  words  which 
are  differently  marked  in  the  later  editions  of 
Webster's  dictionary  from  what  they  were  for- 
merly. 

tre-men'dous,  not  -mend'yti-us. 

tre'mor,  or  trem'or. 

tri-bu'nal. 

trib'une,  not  tri'bun. 

tri'o,  or  tri'o. 

trip'ar-tite. 

See  Key  to  ProDUDciation,  p.  6. 


182 

triphthong — trif  thOng,  or  trip'-. 

"Two  aspirations  in  succession,  says  Mr.  El- 
phinston,  seem  disagreeable  to  an  English  ear, 
and  therefore  one  of  them  is  generally  sunk. 
T\i\x^  diphthong  and  triphthong  are  pronounced 
dipthong  and  tripthong,  P  is  lost,  as  well  as  A, 
in  apophthegm ;  and  therefore  it  is  no  wonder 
we  hear  the  first  h  dropped  in  ophthalmy  and 
ophthalmic^  which  is  the  pronunciation  I  have 
adopted,  as  agreeable  to  analogy.  Nay,  such  an 
aversion  do  we  seem  to  have  to  a  succession  of 
aspirates,  that  the  h  is  sunk  in  isthjniis,  Esther^ 
and  Demosthenes  [?],  because  the  s,  which  is  akin 
to  the  aspiration,  immediately  precedes.  Mr. 
Sheridan  pronounces  the  first  syllable  of  ophthal- 
m^ic  like  off^  but  the  first  of  diphthong  and  triph- 
thong like  dip  and  trip,  Mr.  Scott,  W.  Johnston, 
and  Mr.  Perry  pronounce  diphthong  and  triph- 
thong in  the  same  manner  as  Mr.  Sheridan.  Dr. 
Kenrick  gives  no  pronunciation  to  diphthong^  but 
makes  the  h  silent  in  triphthong  /  while  Barclay 
pronounces  the  h  in  ophthalmic^  but  makes  it 
either  way  in  diphthong^  and  silent  in  triphthong. 
It  may  be  remarked  that  Dr.  Jones,  who  wrote  a 
spelling  dictionary  in  Queen  Anne's  time,  makes 
the  h  in  those  two  words  silent." —  Walker, 

trisyllable — tris-silla-bl,  or  tris'-. 
trivi-al. 
The  older  orthoepists  say  trWyal, 

troche — ^tro'ke. 

See  Key  to  PronunoiatioD,  p.  6. 


183 

trochee — tro'ke. 

tro'phy. 

tr5th,  not  troth. 

trou'§er§,  not  -z8z. 

trousseau  (Fr.) — trdb'so'. 

tru'ant.     See  accrue. 

true,  not  tru. 

truf'fle. 

truncheon — trtin'shun. 

truth,  not  truth. 

truths,  not  truthg. 

tube,  not  tub. 

tu'ber-ose,  tu'ber-o§e,  or  tube'roge. 

The  first  of  these  markings  has  the  fewest 
authorities  in  its  favor,  but  they  are  among  the 
latest — Smart,  Cooley,  and  Cull ;  and  the  Web- 
ster "Unabridged"  gives  it  the  second  place — 
after  tube' rose,  which  is  a  corruption  resulting 
from  the  accidental  resemblance  of  the  word  to 
a  compound  of  tube  and  rose.  The  second  mark- 
ing, in  retaining  the  soft  sound  of  the  5,  goes  only 
half-way  in  rejecting  the  vulgarism.  The  word 
comes  from  the  Latin  adjective  tuberosus,  and 
should  have  the  sharp  sound  of  5,  like  all  other 
words  of  similar  derivation,  as  morose,  verbose, 
etc.;  and  this,  we  believe,  is  the  actual  pronun- 
ciation of  the  majority  of  educated  speakers. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


184 

Tue§'day,  not  tuz'-.     See  adduce. 

Tuileries  (Fr.) — ^twele-re'. 

tulip,  not  tu'-. 

tu'midt,  not  tu'-. 

tune,  not  tun. 

tur'gid. 

turkois,  or  turquoise — tur-koiz',  or  -kez'. 

tu'tor,  not  tu'-. 

ty^phus,  not  tf  pus. 

typ-o-gripliic,  or  ty-po-. 

ty-r^n'nic. 

tyr'an-ny,  not  ty'ran-. 

tzar  (for  czar) — zar. 

tzarina  (for  czarina) — za-re'na. 

This  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  defeat  of 
good  intentions.  The  proper  sound  of  cz  in  these 
Slavic  words  is  that  of  ts,  and  some  English 
writers  have  spelt  them  with  a  ^  in  order  to  get 
them  pronounced  correctly  ;  but  our  lexicogra- 
phers, assuming  that  this  was  merely  an  unmean- 
ing variation  of  the  orthography,  have  inserted 
them  as  above  with  the  same  lazy  pronunciation 
given  in  English  to  the  original  forms.  It  should 
be  remembered  that,  as  a  rule,  there  are  few  or  no 
entirely  ineffective  letters  in  any  of  the  Euro- 
pean languages,  the  English  and  the  French  ex- 
cepted. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


185 


U. 

This  vowel  was  formerly  the  same  letter  as 
the  consonant  v,  and  the  two  forms  were  inter- 
changeable for  both  purposes  ;  and,  though  the 
consonant  and  vowel  have  very  different  uses, 
their  representation  came  to  be  discriminated 
only  at  a  comparatively  recent  period. 

The  sound  of  this  letter  in  French  has  no 
equivalent  in  English,  and  therefore  can  not  be 
represented  with  English  characters.  In  German 
it  is  sounded  like  double  o  in  English  ;  followed 
by  e,  or  with  two  points  over  it  (^),  it  is  sounded 
precisely  like  u  in  French. 

Urti-ma  TMle. 

til-ti-ma'tum,  or  -ma'tum. 

We  frequently  hear  this  word  pronounced 
with  the  a  broadened,  and  this  pronunciation  can 
not  be  said  to  be  really  incorrect,  although  it  is 
not  sanctioned  by  any  of  the  dictionaries.  This 
remark  applies  with  equal  force  to  apparatus, 
armada^  bravado,  datum,  desperado,  gratis,  ig- 
noramus, lava,  octave,  octavo, panorama, prome- 
nade, etc.  All  these  words  are  of  foreign  origin, 
even  to  their  form,  and  to  many  ears  are  more 
euphonious  with  a  broadened  a. 

ul-tra-mftn'tane. 

iil-u-la'tion. 

tim-bi-li'cus. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


186 

umbrageous — lim-bra^jus,  or  -je-us. 

tlm-breria,  not  tim-ber-era. 

tin-as-sum'ing,  not  -sum'-. 

Hn-bat'ed,  not  b^t'-. 

"  With  a  little  shuffling,  you  may  choose 
A  sword  unhated.'^^  — Hamlet. 

un-civll,  not  -civ'l,  nor  civ'ul. 
uncourteous — tin-kur'te-ils,  or  -kort'yiis. 
tin-coutli',  not  -couth^ 
unctuous — ungkt'yu-tis. 
undaunted — ^un-dant'ed,  not  -daunt'-, 
un-der-neath',  not  -neatli'. 
un-der-signed\ 

undiscerned — un-diz-zernd^     See  sacri- 
fice, 
un-ex-pgct'ed,  not  -ud.     See  ailment. 
tin-fre-quSnt'ed,  not  un-fre'quent-ed. 
un-fruiffiil,  not  -frut'-. 
unguent — ting'gwent. 
unhandsome — tin-li^n'sum. 
unheard — un-herd^ 
Webster  said  ijtn-herd\ 
tin-in'ter-est-ed. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


187 

tin-in'ter-est-ing. 

One  of  the  most  common  of  errors  is  the  mis- 
placing of  the  accent  of  the  verb  interest  and  its 
derivatives.     See  note  on  interesting, 

unison — yu'ne-stin. 
Smart  says  yvfne-ziXn. 

u-nit'ed-ly,  not  -lid-. 

tin-kind'ness,  not  -ntis.     See  ailment. 

iin-leam'ed,  adj.^  not  -lemd. 

tin-mask',  not  -m^sk'.     See  advance. 

tin-pre§'e-d6nt-ed,  not  -pre'ce-. 

un-ruly.     See  accrue. 

unscathed — tin-sk^tht',  or  -skatht'. 

un-tune',  not  -tun'. 

iin-tu'tored,  not  -tu'-. 

unvanquisked — un-v^ng'kwiskt. 

tin-wa'ry. 

tip'most,  not  -mtist. 

tJ'ra-nus. 

usage — ^yu'zaj,  not  -saj. 

usurious — yu-zku'ri-tis. 

u-§urp',  not  -siirp'. 

uxorious — ^tigz-o  'ri-iis. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


188 


V. 

This  character  represents  a  uniform  conso- 
nant sound,  and  is  never  silent.     (See  U.) 

In  German  the  letter  v  invariably  has  the 
sound  of/*,  except  in  words  derived  from  foreign 
languages. 

v^c'gine,  or  va^c'gine. 

va-ga'ry,  not  va'ga-ry. 

"  They  changed  their  minds, 
Flew  off,  and  into  strange  vagaries  fell 
As  they  would  dance."       '         — Milton. 

v^Vet ;  in  French,  v^la^ 

valet  de  chambre  (French) — vala'  de 

sliSng'br. 

va-lise',  or  -lise^ 

v^ru-a-ble,  not  v^ru-bl,  nor  v^l'ii-a-bL 

vanquish — v^ng'kwish. 

va'ri-e-gate,  not  va-ri'-. 

va'ri-e-gat-ed. 

va'ri-o-loid,  not  v^r'i-. 

va-ri-o'rum. 

vase,  or  va§e. 

For  the  pronunciation  vdz,  in  imitation  of  the 
French  sound — more  frequently  heard  in  Eng- 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


189 

land  than  with  us — there  is  no  authority  what- 
ever ;  nor  is  there  authority  for  vawz^  which  was 
only  permitted  by  Jameson.  The  pronunciation 
to  which  we  give  the  first  place  is  unquestionably 
the  most  rational  and  most  euphonious,  especially 
in  the  plural. 

'*  I  have  a  pretty  fancy  for  bric-a-brac  and  antique  vases; 
Know  how  to  carve  a  cabinet  and  make  books  on  the 
races." 

vaunt,  or  vaunt. 

ve'he-mence,  not  ve-he'mence. 

ve'lie-ment,  not  ve-he'ment. 

vglVet,  not  -vit. 

ven-due',  not  -du'. 

Venezuela — v6n-e-zwe'la,  or  -zwala. 

ve'ni-al,  or  venial. 

venison — ven'zn,  or  ven'e-zn. 

This  word  is  rarely  pronounced  in  three  sylla- 
bles. 

venue — v6n'yu,  not  ve'nu. 

veracious — ve-ra'shus,  not  -r^sh'us. 

ver-bose',  not  -boz^ 

ver'di-giis,  not  -gris. 

verdure — verd^yur,  or  -yur. 

vermicelli — ver-me-sSre,  or  -cheVe, 

vermilion — ver-mil'yun,  not  -mil'e-un. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  G. 


190 

version — ver'shun,  not  -zhun. 
ver'ti-go,  ver-ti'-,  or  ver-ti'-. 
vesture — ^vestYni". 
ves'sel,  not  ves'l. 
vet'er-i-na-ry,  not  vet'ri-na-ry. 
Vibert — ve'bar'. 
vig'i-nage. 

vig'i-nal,  or  vi-ci'nal. 
vi-cis'si-tude.     See  adduce, 
vic'to-ry,  not  vic^try. 
victuals — vit'tlz. 

*This  corruption,  like  most  others,  has  ter- 
minated in  the  generation  of  a  new  word  ;  for  no 
solemnity  will  allow  of  pronouncing  this  word  as 
it  is  written.  Victuals  appeared  to  Swift  so  con- 
trary to  the  real  sound,  that,  in  some  of  his  manu- 
script remarks,  he  spells  the  word  mttlesP — 
Walker. 

villain — viriin,  not  viriiin. 

vin^di-ca-tive,  or  vin-dic'a-tive, 

vin^di-ca-to-ry. 

vi'o-lence,  not  -liince. 

vi'o-lent,  not  -liint.     See  ailment. 

vi-ra'go,  or  vi-ra'-,  not  -ra'-. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


191 

Virchow — fir'ko. 

virile — ^vi'ril,  or  vir'il. 

virtue — -virt'yu. 

"  Dr.  Hill  publislied,  in  a  pampWet,  a  petition 
from  the  letters  Zand  tl Xo  David  Garrick,  Esq., 
both  complaining  of  terrible  grievances  imposed 
upon  them  by  that  great  actor,  who  frequently- 
banished  them  from  their  proper  stations,  as  in 
the  word  virtue^  which,  they  said,  he  converted 
into  vurtue  ;  and,  in  the  word  ungrateful^  he  dis- 
placed the  w,  and  made  it  ingrateful,  to  the  great 
prejudice  of  the  said  letters.  To  this  complaint 
Garrick  replied  in  the  following  epigram  : 

*  If  it  is,  as  you  say,  that  I've  injured  a  letter, 
I'll  change  my  note  soon,  and,  I  hope,  for  the  better. 
May  the  right  use  of  letters,  as  well  as  of  men, 
Hereafter  be  fixed  by  the  tongue  and  the  pen. 
Most  devoutly  I  wish  they  may  both  have  their  due, 
And  that  /  may  be  never  mistaken  for  UJ'  " 

—  Walker, 
vir'u-lence,  7iot  vir'-. 

vir'a-lgnt. 

It  will  be  observed  that  i  in  these  two  words 
has  the  sound  of  i  in  vista, 

viscount — vi'kount. 

vig'or. 

There  is  but  little  authority  for  mJzor.  It  is 
only  permitted  in  the  later  editions  of  Webster. 

visual — vizli'u-al. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


192     . 

vivacious — vi-va'shus,  not  -v^sh^us. 

vizier — viz'yer,  or  -yer. 

vo'ca-ble,  not  v6c'a-. 

vSra-tile,  not  -til. 

v6l-ca'no,  not  -ca'no. 

The  latter  pronunciation,  although  etymolog- 
ically  correct,  is  so  seldom  heard  as  to  sound 
pedantic. 

volume — ^vSryum. 

Webster  said  voVum. 

von  (Ger.) — fiin,  not  v6n. 

This  German  monosyllable  is  pronounced  pre- 
cisely like  the  English  word  fun,  except  that  its 
utterance  is  somewhat  shorter  or  more  abrupt. 
Hence  we  should  ssijficn  (not  von)  Arnim,  etc. 


w. 

This  letter  is  a  consonant  (or  more  correctly 
a  semi-vowel)  at  the  beginning  of  a  word  or  of  a 
syllable,  and  when  preceded  by  a  consonant  in 
the  same  syllable.  Its  combination  with  a  pre- 
ceding a  in  the  same  syllable  produces  the  sound 
of  broad  a  in  hall,  as  in  lawn;  with  e,  a  diph- 
thong sounding  like  long  u,  as  in  7iew,  or,  if  pre- 
ceded by  r  or  y,  like  the  u  in  rule — i.  e.,  like 
long   00 — as   in  crew,  yew ;   with  o,  the  diph- 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


193 

thongal  sound  sometimes  also  represented  by  on, 
as  in  tow7i,  or  that  of  long  o  (the  w  having  no 
effect),  as  in  glow. 

It  is  always  silent  before  r  in  the  same  sylla- 
ble, as  in  write,  wring,  wren,  wrong,  etc.;  it  is 
likewise  silent  in  the  words  sword,  answer,  two, 
toward. 

Before  another  vowel  in  the  same  syllable,  it 
is  frequently  represented  by  u,  as  in  languor, 
question,  etc. 

In  German,  w  has  the  sound  of  v  in  English. 

waft,  not  w^ft.     See  advance. 

Wagner — vag'ner. 

Wa-lia'bee§. 

waistcoat — wast'kot,  or  wes'kot. 

wan — ^w5n,  not  w^n. 

"Mr.  Sheridan  has  given  the  a,  in  this  word 
and  its  compounds,  the  same  sound  as  in  man, 
Mr,  Scott  and  Dr.  Kenrick  have  given  both  the 
sound  I  have  given  and  Mr.  Sheridan's,  but  seem 
to  prefer  the  former  by  placing  it  first.  I  have 
always  heard  it  pronounced  like  the  first  syllable 
of  wan-ton ;  and  find  Mr.  Nares,  W.  Johnston, 
and  Mr.  Perry  have  so  marked  it." —  Walker, 

war'y,  or  war'y. 
wassail — wSs'sil. 
weapon — w6p'n,  not  we'pn. 
w^Wynot  w^l. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


194 

we,  or  we,  according  to  the  stress  it 
should  receive. 

"  We  \yoe\  go  to  Boston  ;  they  to  Chicago." 
"  We  \yoe\  hope  to  see  you  when  we  \w€\  ar- 
rive ;  if  we  \yoe\  do  not,  we  \yoe\  shall  be  disap- 
pointed." 

Weber — va'ber. 
westward,  not  -ilrd. 
wharf,  not  worf. 
where'fore,  not  whSr'for. 

A  goodly  number  of  the  orthoepists  say  whdr'- 
for^  and  Smart  is  among  them. 

where-with'j  or  -with'. 

where-with-ar. 

wheth'er,  not  w6th^-. 

which,  not  wich. 

while,  not  wile. 

whis'key,  not  wis'-. 

whole — ^hole,  not  hul.     See  cooper. 

whole'sale,  not  hiir-. 

Wieland — veland. 

wife ;  possessive^  wife's,  not  wives. 

Winckelmann — vink'el-man. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


195 


wind,  or  wind. 


"  These  two  modes  of  pronunciation  have  been 
long  contending  for  superiority,  till  at  last  the 
former  [wmd]  seems  to  have  gained  a  complete 
victory,  except  in  the  territories  of  rhyme.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Sheridan  tells  us  that  Swift  used  to  jeer 
those  who  pronounced  wind  with  the  ^  short,  by 
saying,  '  I  have  a  great  mmd  to  fmd  why  you 
pronounce  it  wind?  A  very  illiberal  critic  re- 
torted this  upon  Mr.  Sheridan  by  saying,  'If  I 
may  be  so  hoold,  I  should  be  glad  to  be  toold 
why  you  pronounce  it  goold,'*  .  .  .  Mr.  Sheridan 
and  Mr.  Scott  give  the  same  preference  ,to  the 
first  sound  of  this  word  that  I  have  done.  Dr. 
Kenrick  and  Mr.  Barclay  give  only  the  short 
sound.  Mr.  Perry  joins  them  in  this  sound,  but 
says  in  dramatic  scenes  it  has  the  long  one.  Mr. 
Nares  says  it  has  certainly  the  short  sound  in 
common  usage,  but  that  all  our  best  poets  rhyme 
it  with  mind,  kind,  etc. ;  and  Mr.  Smith  observes 
that  it  is  now  the  polite  pronunciation,  though 
against  analogy." —  Walker, 

wind'pipe. 

Wlnd'plpe  is  antiquated, 
mnd'ward,  not  -iird. 
wi§e'a-cre. 

Worcester  says  wi^e'a-cre, 
with,  preposition^  not  with, 
with,  or  withe,  a  twig— with. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 
13 


196 

women — ^wim^en,  not  -tin. 

wont,  verh  and  noun — wiint. 

won't — wont,  not  wiint. 

wonted — wunt'ed. 

word — werd.     See  advertisement. 

work — werk. 

world — werld. 

worst,  verh  and  adj. — werst. 

worsted — wobst'ed,  or  wdbrst'ed. 

worth — ^wertk,  not  wtitli. 

wound — wobnd,  not  wownd,  wkicli  is 

antiquated, 
wrath. 

Smart  says  rath, 
wrath'f  ill. 
wreath,  noun—YQi\  not  reth ;  plural, 

wreaths — rethz,  not  reths. 
wreathe,  verb — reth. 
wrestle — res'sl. 
wrestler — rSs'ler. 
wristband — rist'band. 
wrSng.     See  accost, 
wroth,  adj. — rawth,  or  rSth. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


197 


X. 

The  regular  sound  of  this  letter  is  like  ks^  as 
in  tax,  excuse,  etc. 

It  has  a  soft  or  flat  sound  like  gz  when  the 
following  syllable  begins  with  an  accented  vowel, 
as  in  exist,  example,  etc.  It  also  has  the  sound  of 
gz  in  some  words  derived  from  primitives  which 
have  that  sound,  when  not  followed  by  an  ac- 
cented vowel,  as  in  exemplary. 

When  X  begins  a  word,  it  has  the  sound  of  z, 
as  in  xe'hec  {ze'bek). 


x^n'the-ine. 

xerophagy — ze-r6f'a-je. 
xy-l6g'ra-p]iy. 
xy-loi'dine. 


This  letter  at  the  end  of  a  word,  preceded  by 
a  consonant,  is  generally  pronounced  short  and 
indistinct  like  obscure  e,  as  in  m,any,  com,ely,  pol- 
icy, etc.  The  exceptions  are  monosyllables  and 
their  compounds,  as  dry,  fly,  by,  whereby,  v^ry, 
awry,  etc.;  verbs  ending  in/y,  as  magnify,  beau- 
tify, and  a  few  others — for  example,  supply,  mul- 
tiply, reply,  etc. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


198 

The  sound  of  y  is  heard  in  many  positions 
where  it  is  either  unexpressed,  or  is  represented 
by  i  or  e  ;  as  in  union  (yun'yun)^  righteous  (rlt'- 
yus),  etc. 

yacht — y6t,  not  y^t. 
ycleped — e-klept'. 

ySs. 

Walker  and  several  other  orthoapists  said  yis, 
but  this  pronunciation  is  now  obsolete. 

yesterday — yes'ter-da,  or  -da. 
ySt,  not  yit. 

"  The  e  in  this  word  is  frequently  changed  by 
incorrect  speakers  into  i  ;  but,  though  this  change 
is  agreeable  to  the  best  and  most  established 
usage  in  the  word  yes,  in  yet  it  is  the  mark  of 
incorrectness  and  vulgarity. 

"  Dr.  Kenrick  is  the  only  orthoepist  who  gives 
any  countenance  to  this  incorrectness,  by  admit- 
ting it  as  a  second  pronunciation  ;  but  Mr.  Sher- 
idan, Mr.  Scott,  W.  Johnston,  Mr.  Perry,  and  Mr. 
Smith  give  the  regular  sound  only." —  Walker. 

yew— yu. 

yolk — yok,  or  yolk. 
ySn'der,  not  yen'-,  nor  ytin'-. 
you — ^yu,  when  emphatic  ;  otherwise,  ye, 
not  ye. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


199 

your — ^yur,  when  emphatic  /  otherwise^ 
yur,  or  yer. 

In  the  latter  case  the  word  is  pronounced  pre- 
cisely like  the  last  syllable  in  the  word  lawyer, 

"  What  judgment  shall  I  dread,  doing  no  wrong? 
You  [ye\  have  among  you  [ye]  many  a  purchased  slave, 
Which,  hke  your  [yur\  asses  and  your  [yur\  dogs  and 

mules, 
You  [ye\  use  in  abject  and  in  slavish  parts. 
Because  you  [ye\  bought  them  [tWrn]-^  shall  I  say  to 

you  [ye\  * 
Let  them  [Wni]  be  free,  marry  them  [tJCm]  to  your  [yur] 

heirs  ? 
Why  sweat  they  \thg]  under  their  [ther]  burdens?  let 

their  [thdr]  beds 
Be  made  as  soft  as  yours  [yurz\  let  their  {tTidr]  palates 
Be  seasoned  with  such  viands.     You  *  will  answer. 
The  slaves  are  ours!     So  do  I  answer  you  [yu]. 
The  pound  of  flesli  which  I  demand  of  him  * 
Is  dearly  bought,  is  mine,  and  I  will  have  it ! 
If  you*  deny  me  [me\  fie  upon  your  [yur]  law ! 
There  [ther]  is  no  force  in  the  decrees  of  Venice. 
I  stand  for  judgment : — answer :  shall  I  have  it  ? " 

— ShylocTc, 

The  writer  would  take  occasion  now  to  say 
that  he  is  not  of  opinion  that  the  sound  of  the 
pronouns  should  always  either  be  brought  out 
distinctly  and  fully,  or  that  it  should  be  touched 
very  lightly,  in  strict  accordance  with  the  mark- 
ings he  has  given,  which  are  intended  to  repre- 

*  Here  the  rhythm  and  not  the  sense  lengthens  the  vowel 
somewhat,  which  accounts  for  the  quantity  of  the  sound  being 
left  unindicated. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


200 

sent  only  the  two  extremes.  Much  must  be  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  reader,  who,  it  is  believed, 
if  he  takes  the  trouble  to  observe  and  to  give  the 
matter  a  little  thought,  will  quickly  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  nothing  tends  more  to  make  one's 
delivery  stilted  and  unnatural  than  the  continual 
bringing  out  of  the  full  name-sound  of  the  pro- 
nouns, after  the  fashion  of  so  many  of  the  would- 
be  correct. 


This  letter  has  the  sound  of  soft  5,  as  in  maze, 
gaze,  zone.  In  some  words,  combined  with  a 
succeeding  vowel,  it  has  the  sound  of  zli,  as  in 
azure,  glazier,  etc. 

In  German,  it  has  the  sound  of  ts ;  in  Span- 
ish, that  of  th  as  in  thin,  or  (in  Spanish  America) 
of  sharp  s  as  in  sun, 

Zamacois  (Sp.) — tha-ma-ko'is. 

zealot — zel'ot,  not  ze'lot. 

"There  are  few  words  better  confirmed  by 
authority  in  their  departure  from  the  sound  of 
their  simples  than  this  and  zealous.  If  custom 
were  less  decided,  I  should  certainly  give  my 
vote  for  the  long  sound  of  the  diphthong  ;  but, 
as  propriety  of  pronunciation  may  be  called  a 
compound  ratio  of  usage  and  analogy,  the  short 
sound  must,  in  this  case,  be  called  the  proper 
one." —  Walker, 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


201 


ze'nitli. 


"  I  never  once  called  in  doubt  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  this  word  till  I  was  told  that  mathemati- 
cians generally  make  the  first  syllable  short. 
Upon  consulting  our  orthoepists,  I  find  all  who 
have  the  word,  and  who  give  the  quantity  of  the 
vowels,  make  the  e  long,  except  Entick.  ...  If 
this  majority  were  not  so  great  and  so  respect- 
able, the  analogy  of  words  of  this  form  ought  to 
decide." —  Walker, 

Smart  says  zen'ith, 

Zeus,  not  Ze'as. 
zo-Oro-gy,  7iot  Z0-. 
zo-o-l6g'i-cal,  not  zo-o-. 
Zunz  (Ger.) — tscJbnts. 

See  Key  to  Pronunciation,  p.  6. 


THE     END. 


THE  ORTHOEPIST. 

A  PRONOUNCING  MANUAL, 

CONTAINING 

About  Three  Thousand  Five  Hundred  Words, 

INCLirDJNG 

A  Considerable  Number  of  -the  Names  of  Foreign  Authors,  Artists,  etc.,  that 
are  often  mispronounced. 


By   ALFRED    AYRES. 


"Asa  remedial  agency,  for  popular  application  to  an  evil  which  we  all 
know  to  be  widespread  and  constantly  operative,  this  is  one  of  the  most 
timely  issues  from  the  press  which  we  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  wel- 
come for  many  a  day.  Within  the  compass  of  thjs  Uttle  volume  is  placed 
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pronunciation  which,  if  used,  will  be  really  invaluable.  Scarcely  one  per- 
son in  five  thousand,  or  ten  thousand,  can  claim  to  be  without  occasion  for 
resort  to  the  corrections  offered  in  the  pages  before  us.  Indeed,  whoever 
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ried home  to  the  comprehension,  not  only  by  the  arrangement  of  contrast- 
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which  make  clear  the  relations  of  the  vowel-sounds,  the  uses  of  the  diph- 
thong, methods  of  using  the  unaccented  syllables,  proper  accentuation, 
correct  employment  of  the  aspirates,  etc.  The  arrangement  of  the  wonls 
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